Electoral vote effort delayed

[warrior1]

Initiative backers decide to aim for the November ballot instead of June's.
By Kevin Yamamura - [email protected]
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, December 7, 2007

GOP backers of a controversial initiative to change how California's electoral votes are counted acknowledged Thursday that qualifying for the June 2008 ballot is "unrealistic" and said they will continue gathering signatures for November.

The initiative has drawn national attention because it would assign California's electors on a district-by-district basis rather than award the statewide winner all 55 electoral votes, altering the national political calculus by dividing up a state that has been reliably Democratic since 1992.

Appearing on the ballot in November, rather than June, has two significant downsides for the initiative. Republican proponents are unable to benefit from the depressed turnout expected in June, a factor that would have likely meant a smaller proportion of Democratic voters. They also stand to face a legal challenge over whether the initiative would apply to the 2008 presidential election because it would appear on the same ballot.

"Due to the tight calendar we are operating under and the challenge of raising money and gathering signatures during the holiday season, we understand that submitting signatures and having them counted in time to make the June ballot is no longer a realistic goal," Dave Gilliard, a Sacramento consultant running the California Counts campaign, said in a statement.

snip

Look like they can't steal this coming election.

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/549976.html