Gov. Polis signs national popular vote into law

Gov. Jared Polis has signed a bill into law saying Colorado will join other states in casting their presidential electoral votes for the winner of the national popular vote.

The House had voted 34-29 to approve the bill, which had cleared the Senate.

Colorado now joins 11 states and the District of Columbia in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

Opponents say the initiative subverts an electoral college that currently is designed to ensure smaller states aren’t trampled over when it comes to choosing a U.S. president.

The bill comes after Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential victory over Hillary Clinton, who won 3 million more votes.

Colorado Democrats say “equal representation is not a red or blue issue – it is a way to ensure every American and every Coloradan has an equal say about who leads our country.”

States have the power to allocate their electors however they choose under Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution.