Letter to the Editor: Minority political parties in each state matter

To the editor,


The National Popular Vote interstate compact addresses the shortcomings of the current system for electing our nation’s president. Those shortcomings stem from state “winner-take-all” laws that award all of a state’s electoral votes to the candidate receiving the most popular votes in the state.


Under this system, votes cast by members of minority political parties in each state don’t count beyond the state level and therefore have no influence on the outcome of the election.


If we elected the president by national popular vote, however, every vote would matter equally throughout the United States. The votes cast by members of minority political parties in each state would go on to be tallied with those of like-minded people throughout the country and could have a significant impact on the election results.


The history of the winner-take-all method is worth exploring. A concise account can be found at https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/written-explanation. It’s the first topic in the “Learn More” section toward the bottom of the page.


Particularly revealing is what Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton said in 1824: “The general ticket system [winner-take-all], now existing in 10 States was … not [the offspring] of any disposition to give fair play to the will of the people. It was adopted by the leading men of those states, to enable them to consolidate the vote of the State.”


Please join me this November in voting YES on the National Popular Vote referendum here in Colorado. A YES vote supports Colorado’s current position in the National Popular Vote interstate compact and the compact’s goal of ensuring that all voters, regardless of party affiliation or state of residency, have an equal say in our presidential elections.


 Nancy Harcourt
Del Norte, Colorado