Without a single Republican vote in the legislature, the Colorado House today passed the bill to join Colorado to the National Popular Vote pact, which would tie Colorado’s nine electoral votes to the national popular vote, regardless of how Colorado voted. This is an affront to Colorado’s voters and every single one should be angry. Or, as our friend and radio host, Ross Kaminsky, tweeted:
Every CO state legislator who votes for #NationalPopularVote deserves to be recalled. CO voters should be furious, across party lines. A person has to be ignorant of or opposed to fundamental American principles, or dishonest, to support NPV. #copolitics @cologop @coloradodems
— Ross Kaminsky (@Rossputin) February 21, 2019
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. The problem with tying Colorado’s vote to the popular vote is that the popular vote is pretty much determined by heavy urban areas, including Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. While Colorado has absorbed many residents from these cities, we’re still very different from New York and we shouldn’t outsource our vote to the Empire State.
The second most appalling thing about this vote is how vocally supportive Colorado’s new Secretary of State, Jena Griswold, has been about disenfranchising Colorado voters. While former Secretary of State Wayne Williams took the initiative to expand opportunities for Colorado’s voters to participate in the electoral process, Griswold tweeted the following last night:
Tonight the #coleg is debating #nationalpopularvote. It empowers the individual voter, no matter where that voter lives. And it forces our elected officials to consider the needs of their whole constituency, not just the few. Thank you @EmilyForCO & @RepJeniArndt for sponsoring.
— Colorado Sec. of State (@COSecofState) February 21, 2019
Sure, it definitely empowers the individual voters…in Chicago, LA, and New York, but definitely not in Colorado. Time to dust off your pitch forks, PeakNation™. This legislature is only going to get worse.