It’s a fairer system

A“yes” vote on Colorado Proposition 113 ratifies national popular vote for Colorado. Voting rules are complex, but this one isn’t. What national popular vote does is count all votes nationwide before awarding electors, replacing the statewide winner-take-all rule.

National popular vote does not change the Electoral College in any way. It changes Colorado’s rule over electors, which is granted by the U.S. Constitution. States have changed how electors are appointed over time, and as the nation evolves, the state legislatures may change again to even better methods.

Replacing the current winner-take-all rule with national popular vote is in every Colorado voter’s interest, because Colorado isn’t a swing state this year or many years.

National popular vote will drive successful parties to campaign in all states, not just a few swing states. It will give red votes a voice in this now blue-trending state. With the current winner-take-all, those Colorado voters don’t count beyond state lines.

Colorado voters won’t be paying for election year pork to the handful of swing states. This year, it’s roads for Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, diary for Wisconsin, cruise ships and Puerto Rican aid for Florida, and airport money for Pennsylvania and Ohio.

It will boost Colorado’s influence. It will reduce California’s outsized influence by about 40 percent, by counting its split between the red and blue before awarding electors.

National Popular Vote has been a nonpartisan effort. In 2016, there were 153 Republican and 162 Democrat sponsoring legislators.

It is not a referendum between past election winners and losers. The real winner is better representation, because every voter will matter.

RALPH BURNS Boulder