In 2016, 1.2 million Coloradans voted for Donald Trump to become president.

All those Colorado votes for Trump resulted in zero electoral votes. Instead, all nine of the state’s electoral votes went to Hillary Clinton because Trump voters were not the majority in Colorado. Votes for Trump ended on the figurative cutting-room floor.

Proposition 113, titled “Adopt Agreement to Elect U.S. President by National Popular Vote,” aims to change how Colorado deploys its electoral votes. It would make sure every Coloradan’s vote in a presidential race counts — regardless of which candidate wins the state’s popular vote.

We think it’s a practical way to address some of the deficiencies of the Electoral College without tinkering with the Electoral College itself. Eliminating the Electoral College in favor of a direct popular vote would be a cumbersome undertaking because it would require amending the U.S. Constitution.

Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution grants states the sole authority to appoint electors. Our state’s General Assembly used that authority to pass a law in 2019 signed by the governor that commits Colorado to an interstate compact that only becomes binding when participating states represent at least 270 electoral votes.

Opponents to 113, like our own Rose Pugliese, say the compact robs Colorado of its voice — that we’re giving away our votes to populous states. We think that’s misleading.

National Popular Vote, Inc. has broken down the numbers and they’re remarkably even. The largest 100 cities have one-sixth of the U.S. population and they vote 63 percent Democratic. Rural areas contain one-sixth of the population and they vote 63 percent Republican. The remaining two-thirds of the country live in the suburbs and are evenly

divided politically. So there shouldn’t be an urban power grab.

The top five most populous states (California, Texas, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania in that order) split their votes virtually 50/50 between the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, even though none of those votes matter under the current system.

For example, there are millions of Republican voters in California who know their votes for president don’t matter. They’re in the same boat as Colorado’s Trump supporters. The National Popular Vote compact will ensure that Republican votes in blue states and Democratic votes in

red states will actually count. The true voice of Colorado is all of its voters, not just those in the majority.

What’s interesting is that the Electoral College could very well evolve into a system that almost ensures Democratic victories. If Texas, Georgia, Arizona and Florida start to tilt blue, there’s almost no path for a Republican victory — even if the GOP candidate wins the national popular vote.

If voters reject 113, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the idea

resurrected in a few election cycles.