Courtney to allow ‘national popular vote’ to Senate floor

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Democrats are planning to make a final push this year to have Oregon join almost a dozen states that want to sidestep the Electoral College and elect the U.S. president by popular vote.

Previous efforts to join the so-called National Popular Vote interstate compact have failed three times since 2009, with Democratic Senate President Peter Courtney blocking it in each instance.

This year, however, Courtney says he’ll concede, if Oregon voters have the final say.

The National Popular Vote movement gained momentum after President Donald Trump’s Electoral College victory in November. It’s triggered when enacted by states that, collectively, have at least 270 electoral votes. House Bill 2927 would add Oregon’s seven electors to the compact, which currently has 165 votes.