Dems Counter GOP Electoral College Initiative with Two New Initiatives

August 21, 2007 @ 6:02 PM

Take that!

Just a few days after Republicans filed an initiative to steal California's electoral votes by splitting them by Congressional districts, key Democrats fired back by filing two new initiatives with the Attorney General aimed at presenting Californians with real electoral college reforms.

The initiatives, which would enact a national popular vote system, would represent real and fair reform of the process used to elect the president of the United States, according to their sponsors.

"The Republican proposal is the wrong reform at the wrong time and in the wrong place," said business leader Tom Steyer in a press release. "They want to divide California's 55 electoral votes by Congressional District, taking the existing complicated and flawed system and making it even more complicated and more flawed," he added. "Not a single prominent Democrat supports the Republican proposal because it is unfair and partisan attempt to rig the system -- and that is why we are promoting a fair election reform that is based on the national popular vote."

Electing our President by a national popular vote is a goal supported by an overwhelming majority of Californians. The winner of virtually every other office in the U.S. is the candidate with the most votes. The most important election in the world, the Presidency, should also be based on the principle of one person, one vote.

The two initiatives unveiled today would allow California voters to decide on whether or not the Golden State should move towards a national popular vote for President. If enacted, either of these initiatives would give Californians the chance to join with other states to enact a national popular voting system that would eliminate the possibility of a candidate for President winning the popular vote while losing the Presidency.

In 2000, Vice President Al Gore, despite winning the popular vote, did not become president because of how the votes were counted in Florida. Similar to 2000, the second place candidate was elected in the 1888, 1876, and 1824 presidential elections. A shift of a handful of votes in one or two states would have elected the second-place candidate in five of the last 12 presidential elections.

A switch of fewer than 22,000 votes in 2004 in New Mexico, Nevada and Iowa would have awarded the Presidency to a second-place candidate despite President Bush’s 3,500,000-vote lead in the nationwide popular vote. A switch of 60,000 votes in Ohio in 2004 would have had the same effect.

According to Steyer, the Republicans' proposal would increase the likelihood that a second place candidate could become President and make it more likely that we would see the kind of confusion experienced with the Florida recount in 2000. "If you liked hanging chads in 2000, you’re going to love the GOP’s plans for rigging the 2008 elections in California," he concluded.

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popular election

Posted by: david_t on August 21, 2007

Dems should think carefully before changing the system to direct popular election of the president, unless they include a majority runoff as part of that. A system based on winning the popular vote by plurality would provide a powerful structural incentive for formation of third and fourth parties, as well as inspiration for well-financed independent candidacies, and candidacies intended solely to split the other party's votes.

Dems Counter GOP Electoral College Initiative with Two New Initiatives

Posted by: doughnut70 on August 21, 2007

This measure (if it winds up on the ballot) will simply change the debate from an argument about simple fairness which I think would hurt Republicans overall into a question of how the national system should be changed and I think could very easily confuse the issue and help them pass what they are trying to do. JMO!

Dems Two New Initiatives for electoral college, caveat Republican national strategy

Posted by: JohnLopresti on August 21, 2007

A current article* at Campaign Legal Center by voting civil rights expert Gerry Hebert exposes the Republican "initiative" fracturing of CA's state elector rules for the ploy it actually is, to upset the balance of power in the National electoral college. I am glad CA democrat leadership is responding with measures of our own. And be careful about giving away what we have worked hard to achieve over these years. The announcement in your leading article, and the two comments following show observers here are aware CA is a target in RNC electoral deceptive tactics. ---- Hebert: http://www.clcblog.org/blog_item-157.html