One person should equal one vote no matter where that person lives. The candidate who earns the most votes wins the election. These are both straightforward principles that apply to every single elected office in the country except for the president of the United States. The National Popular Vote, once enacted by enough states, will make sure those principles apply to the presidential race as well.

It was great to see Steamboat Pilot & Today acknowledge the view that “every voter is right to expect his or her vote to count,” but its subsequent lack of support for Proposition 113 was puzzling. Instead of Proposition 113, the Pilot recommended a constitutional amendment or proportional elector representation, neither of which have any chance of happening during our lifetimes.

First, regarding passing a constitutional amendment, what else is there to say except “good luck with that.” The Equal Rights Amendment has been pending since 1972 and still has not been ratified. It has been almost 50 years since it was introduced in Congress. If the requisite approvals cannot even occur for something as fundamental as equal gender rights, the chance of a successful amendment reforming the electoral college is infinitesimal, at best. The truth is that some people want the system to stay the same and will suggest a constitutional amendment process simply to stifle change.

Second, a proportional elector vote — dividing presidential electors based upon the percentage of popular vote within that state — would be even harder to implement. All 50 states would need to agree at the same time for a proportional vote to work as intended. The chances of that may be about equal to getting struck by lightning and winning the lotto on the same day. At any rate, Colorado voters rejected that proposal by a 2-to-1 margin in 2004.

The National Popular Vote is the only realistic way to reform the way we elect our president. Fifteen states have already joined the National Popular Vote agreement, and it is two-thirds of the way to getting enough states. Once implemented, it will make sure every vote counts equally and the presidential candidate who earns the most votes wins the election.

We can’t wait for Congress to get its act together before we reform the way we elect the president. States have the constitutional authority to lead, and we should use it. Please vote “yes“ on Proposition 113.

Jon Quinn

Steamboat Springs