Kentucky would join with other states in an effort to bypass the Electoral College and instead pick the president by popular vote under a plan pending in the Kentucky House.

Proponents say the plan, which they hope to have in place by the 2008 presidential election, would force candidates to pay more attention to smaller states such as Kentucky. If the plan were accepted, Kentucky would agree with other states that its eight electoral votes would go toward the presidential candidate who won the most votes nationwide.

"It makes everybody's vote equal in the whole country," said Richard Beliles, of the watchdog group Common Cause of Kentucky.

"People who are in these states that are considered battlegrounds, their votes are considered more valuable, and it shouldn't be that way."

The proposal is pending in the Kentucky House. With two legislative days remaining before the legislature adjourns, it's unlikely the bill will win passage this year.

Similar proposals have been introduced in legislatures across the country, but no state has enacted one, Beliles said.

Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo, the bill's sponsor, said she intends to push the idea when the legislature meets again next year. Palumbo, a Lexington Democrat, said the idea would force presidential candidates to campaign more in Kentucky.

"It would make every vote equal," Palumbo said. "Now, because of the Electoral College, all these presidential candidates go to the battleground states, and states like Kentucky, ... we don't get the time with the candidates like we would like."

Secretary of State Trey Grayson, the top election official in Kentucky, had not taken a position on the proposal, spokesman Les Fugate said. Still the plan "warrants discussion," Fugate said.

"We would urge caution in reviewing the proposal because it needs to be evident that Kentucky would benefit most from a national popular vote plan," Fugate said. "Currently, there is only one state that has picked the presidential winner more times consecutively than Kentucky, making us an important state in the Electoral College."

State Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, said he did not believe there was much support for changing the presidential electoral process in Kentucky. Removing the Electoral College from the process might actually hinder Kentucky's influence, Thayer said.

"I think that the current electoral system ensures that Kentucky has a voice in presidential elections," Thayer said.

The legislation is House Bill 550.