HB 3475 Oregon agrees to National Popular Vote

05/18/2015
VOTE:NO
In Committee Upon Adjournment

TEXT

HB 3475 will enact Oregon as a member of the Interstate Compact for agreement among the states to elect the President by National Popular Vote.

Personal Choice
Takes away the individual’s ability to have their vote counted for Oregon’s electoral votes because this agreement gives that power to the members of the Interstate Compact.

Fiscal Responsibility
The Interstate Compact will result in litigation. In the event of a protracted litigation process for President, the nation’s peace may be at risk. This may be costly to both litigate and keep the peace during that time.

Limited Government
Under certain circumstances the National Popular winning Presidential candidate may select the electors to cast Oregon’s electoral votes. (page 2 of this bill) This takes away Oregon’s choice and control of their electors. This agreement attempts to limit action by future state governments regarding their ability to leave the compact.

Local Control
This bill takes away all local control for Oregon. In the event there is election fraud in any other member state, Oregon will have zero standing to contest that fraud. Yet that fraud may result in Oregon’s electoral votes being cast for a different candidate than Oregon voters choose.

Free Markets
The Interstate Compact will localize the campaigning to the most populace urban areas of our country. It will favor governing officials to gives these residents more weight and favor from the government in order to garner their votes in future elections. Parts of the country that are more rural will be abandoned and without true representation of their rights.

Comments
As of March 2015, the compact had been joined by ten states and the District of Columbia. Their 165 combined electoral votes amount to 30.7% of the total Electoral College vote, and 61.1% of the 270 votes needed for the compact to go into effect.
Additional resources: Heritage Foundation white paper: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/10/destroying-the-electoral-college-the-anti-federalist-national-popular-vote-scheme
National news video explaining National Popular Vote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ-fXXyIOiE