John Dean: GOP gaming California electoral system; Dems should push for National Popular Vote Plan

[seafan]

The Effort to Change California Election Law, Through an Initiative, to Help the GOP: Why Democrats Should Not Only Fight It, But Also Push For a National Popular Vote Plan

By John Dean
November 30, 2007

Soon we will learn whether a few desperate but very well-funded Republicans have succeeded in collecting the necessary 434,000 valid signatures to go directly to California voters on a ballot initiative to change the election laws. If the initiative were to succeed, it could significantly help elect a GOP presidential candidate in 2008.

With a tone of considerable loathing, The American Conservative magazine - a very Republican magazine -- describes this "California Schemin'" as a gimmick, arising out of a loser mentality, "to change California from a state that awards its electoral votes on a winner-take-all basis to one that hands them out proportionately." Simply stated, the magazine notes, the goal of this effort is "to scrape up another 20 electoral votes" for the next Republican presidential candidate.


Most of the media attention has focused on the money behind this effort, which has been laundered through a dummy corporation in Missouri - and believed to come from Rudy Giuliani backers - along with the failed early efforts toward the same goal. But by late October 2007, more money and more professional help had arrived to rescue the effort. According to reports in the Los Angeles Times, it appears that they will reach their goal, and today, November 30, 2007, they will meet their deadline.

.....

This initiative, innocuously and misleadingly known as the Presidential Election Reform Act, will be sold to California voters as the rebirth of American democracy, with deep-voiced narrators reminding Californians that they are "fair-minded" people, and nothing is fair about the elections where the winner takes all. Of course, the winner-take-all rule is the norm in 48 states, with only Maine and Nebraska apportioning electoral votes by the popular tallies within congressional districts. However, Californians will be told that they should follow the efforts of Maine and Nebraska.

.....

After years of preparation, National Popular Vote was formed on February 23, 2006;

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[seafan]

1. National Popular Vote's proposed legislation

More from Dean:

.....

The organization has drafted legislation, and is coordinating efforts to get its proposed legislation enacted in all states. By proceeding state by state - and it would only take passage in the eleven most populous states to accomplish the goal - the cumbersome and near impossible task of amending the Constitution is avoided.

National Popular Vote's proposed legislation (hereafter, I will refer to both the organization and the legislation as "NPV") is ingenious. It is an agreement between states that represent a majority of the electoral votes. It becomes effective whenever a sufficient combination of the states and the District of Columbia represent an electoral majority - which means that, together, they have 270 electors, constituting a simple majority of the Electoral College. These electors, based on the interstate NPV compact, will agree to vote for the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote nationwide.

"The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee that a presidential candidate who receives the most votes in all 50 states will win the presidency," the NPV explains. Each elector selected under the NPV will vote for the candidate who wins the total popular vote, regardless of the vote within that elector's state.

Notwithstanding Schwarzenegger's veto of the NPV when it was before him last year, there has been steady bipartisan progress throughout the nation, state by state, to move the NPV forward. Polling shows that over 70% of Americans support direct national polling for presidential elections, and would like to avoid the focus on only a few "battleground" states while the interests of the rest of the nation are ignored.

.....

Once again, John Dean is showing us the way.

[AX10]

2. K/R

This only works if it occurs in all 50 states.

[mod mom]

3. Exactly, it can't be only used in some states.

[Le Taz Hot]

10. If I'm not mistaken

don't Maine and Nevada already have this?

[seafan]

6. My understanding is that as soon as enough populous states sign on (270 EV),

.....when enough of the states with the highest number of electoral votes have signed onto this legislation, when combined would be 270 electoral votes, then those state's electors would agree to vote for the winner of the nationwide popular vote, regardless of who won in that elector's state. Then that would ensure that the winner of the national popular vote wins the election.

And this could be accomplished without changing the Constitution.


So, if I'm reading this correctly, all 50 states would not be required to sign on to this legislation.

Even though this legislation is winding its way through the smaller states, which is a good thing, if we can get it passed in the largest states early, then we will have an agreement with those states' electors to vote for the national vote winner.



Dean said:

The organization has drafted legislation, and is coordinating efforts to get its proposed legislation enacted in all states. By proceeding state by state - and it would only take passage in the eleven most populous states to accomplish the goal - the cumbersome and near impossible task of amending the Constitution is avoided.

[ray of light]

4. k/r

[Bitwit1234]

5. To counter that proposition

Democrats should start to wage an all out battle to negatate the ballot on their own ballot. Some smart person can put up another initiative to counter act this one. I am sure they can explain to the people of California just what this would mean and that they should get their butts out there to make sure this "vote stealing" doesn't happen.

[SoCalDem]

7. CHALLENGE EVERY SIGNATURE

they would do it if the shoe were on the other foot..

This is why the referendum thing SUCKS.. any well-funded bogus group just has to name themselves somthing like "Califonians for FAIR elections, clean water, fresh air, free cars, virginal daughters, & tasty burgers" and get idiots to sign their petitions, and look out below.. we get some loopy laws..

[Kurovski]

8. K&R. (nt)

[Le Taz Hot]

9. The California Democratic Party

needs to get on this and fast. They were painfully slow in coming to Grey Davis' defense (a worm, but still a sitting Democratic governor) and horribly ineffective by the time they got around to responding. IF this thing qualifies for the ballot, and I've no reason to believe it won't, the CDP needs to be ready to respond and spend every last dime in the coffers to defeat this. In fact, they need plans NOW so they can be on the ground and running if/when this qualifies. Just once, perhaps Art Torres can get a clue and actually be effective at something other than playing kingmaker.

[The Stranger]

11. No wonder we're so fucked. First, they RECALLED the fucking governor of California.

Now this.

And where in the fuck are the Democrats?

What in the fuck are they doing?

[L. Coyote]

13. WOW, the Rs are terribly desperate this time. They know they'll lose by 20

electoral votes or more, for sure, unless... So they are hungry, out begging for a break, "Please, we are so poor, please, just a few more electoral votes, please. We are just a bunch of losers. Please, take pity on us."

Hunger drives people to madness :rofl:

[seafan]

12. Dean's bottom line:

Whoever wins the Democratic Party's nomination has a winning issue in campaigning on electoral reform, doing so in a bipartisan manner, and bringing the nation together on the idea of popularly electing our presidents. Since Republicans are going to force this question onto the national agenda with their actions in California, the Democrats can show true leadership by raising awareness of the National Popular Vote, as they work to kill the Presidential Reform Act.

(bolding mine)