(CNN) Oregon Democratic Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill Wednesday that would grant the state's electoral college votes to the winner of the national popular vote, her office confirmed.

Oregon is the 15th state to join the National Popular State compact, an agreement established by each participating states' laws to put its electoral votes toward the winner of the national popular vote, instead of the state's own popular vote. The compact will only go into effect if the cumulative total of the states' electoral votes surpasses the 270 necessary for a majority, which would require states that voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 to sign on.

Still, Brown thanked the bill's grassroots supporters for helping bring the "critical and necessary reform to Oregon," citing "how important it is about increasing voter turnout" and helping "every single voter to realize that their vote really made a difference."

Brown argued that the measure would help shift the 2020 presidential election conversation to Oregon, which is not one of the early battleground states attracting Democratic hopefuls eager to pin down crucial primary votes.

"I think it will encourage candidates to spend more time in states like ours, candidates who are running for president speaking directly to our voters," she added. "I think it will help encourage them to talk about issues that. ...Orgeonians care more about. And I think it's really important for Oregon to be part of the national conversation regarding the presidential election"