Journalist: Dylan Davis (OSU)
On Saturday morning, Rep. Ren Giusti (OU) introduced the “Agreement Among the States to Elect the
President by National Popular Vote Act” to the OIL House of Representatives. The bill failed to pass the House after a long period of questioning and caucusing between the representatives.
If put into law, Oklahoma would have joined a coalition of currently 18 other states
across the country, such as Maine, Virginia and California. This coalition would become
effective once the total number of presidential electoral votes was 270 or greater.
Once effective, these states would work together and allot their electors to vote for the
presidential candidate who earned the most votes nationally. This coalition, once active, would
effectively create a system that uses state laws and electors to elect presidents by popular vote,
circumventing the need for federal legislation.
Some representatives, like Rep. Alex Porter (OSU), say that this bill hurts the voice of
Oklahomans and does not have their best interests in mind. During caucusing, he was
instrumental in persuading undecided representatives to vote against the bill. During the
question-and-answer period on the House floor, he offered a few brief remarks about what
influenced him.
“I do think it takes away from the voice of Oklahomans if they’re just going to be swayed
by the national vote. I would rather have that more decentralized voice, let Oklahoma do what
Oklahoma wants to do.”
Many proponents of the bill said that their support for it hinged on the ideology of
enabling a popular vote system in presidential politics. They stated that while this bill would
effectively end the independence of Oklahoma’s presidential electors, they believed a fairer
national system supersedes the decentralized system the Electoral College currently follows.
Despite this bill failing in the House, only 51 more presidential electors from other states
are needed to enforce this coalition. While Oklahoma may not be joining these other states this
legislative session, there is still hope in states throughout the country that a national popular vote
may one day elect the president.