Legislation that would make votes cast for president in Oregon matter — by joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact — has been introduced every odd year (because even year sessions are only 35 days long in Oregon) since 2009 but has not been allowed to make it to the Senate Floor for a vote. This is strange since the Democratic Party of Oregon and the vast majority of Oregonians have been in support of passing National Popular Vote legislation for 6 years.
But this year is different. 2015 Cosponsor of National Popular Vote Legislation and first term Senate Majority Leader, Ginny Burdick has the power this year. If she schedules HB 2927 for a work session in the Senate Rules Committee, which only she as Rules Chair can do, Oregon will pass National Popular Vote legislation this year.
This matters to you even if you don’t live in Oregon because several states introduced National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) legislation this year — some of them democratically controlled — and not a single once has been able to pass it yet. And this legislation needs a win this year for obvious reasons.
There is a sort of fear in the air that makes no sense. Why, the year after the electoral college failed so badly is there a sudden freeze in NPVIC legislative movement? The answer I keep hearing from frustrated organizers, volunteers, activists and citizens on the ground in places where Dems control the state house and senate (cough...Connecticut) but still hasn’t passed is: politics. Part of a disturbing trend where politics is used as a synonym for lying instead of self governing.
BUT tweeting one thing and doing another doesn’t seem to be a staple of the Democratic party... yet. And the Democratic Party of Oregon supports this legislation, so Senator Burdick has the support of both her constituents and her party and HERSELF! She can be the champion of the people this year — not just in Oregon — but throughout the country.
So please — if you have twitter — retweet Oregon Senate Rules Committee Chair, Senator Ginny Burdick’s tweet above — with a supportive 140 character message including @SenBurdick @ORdems about why she is the perfect champion for National Popular Vote legislation — and urge her to take this opportunity to ensure HB2927 gets a vote on the Oregon Senate floor in 2017.
Here is one I came up with if you are struggling:
@SenBurdick, @ORDems r w/u. B a champ 4 our voices all over the US and esp OR. Get HB2927 a vote in 2017, schedule a work session. Thank U!