COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio House Federalism Committee held its first hearing Wednesday for a bill that would make Ohio a member of the “Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote.” Since 2007, 12 states and the District of Columbia have joined the compact, while both the Colorado General Assembly and the New Mexico Legislature voted in favor of joining this year. Under the agreement, Ohio’s entire Electoral College delegation would be awarded to the winner of the national popular vote. The bill, HB 70, is sponsored by Rep. David Leland (D-Columbus), who testified before the House Federalism Committee Wednesday. “This is a change that is long overdue. Two-thirds of the presidents elected in this century have been chosen by the Electoral College without a corresponding majority of the electorate for their first terms. Put simply, the person the people chose to be their president in their first term was ignored 66 percent of the time in this century,” Leland said during his testimony. He went on to argue that the Electoral College “rewards small states while punishing larger ones,” such as Ohio. “The population of Wyoming is 584,000 and they receive 3 Electors. This…
Read the full story