Assault on the electoral college: a plan to give the presidency to the candidate with the most nationwide votes would make less-populous states irrelevant in presidential elections.Assaults on the electoral college electoral college, in U.S. government, the body of electors that chooses the president and vice president. The Constitution, in Article 2, Section 1, provides: "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, are nothing new. The left seems to keep a calendar which schedules dates for periodic attacks on the Constitution's system for electing the president and the vice president. February 23 was such a date. A press conference at the National Press Club in the nation's capital was showtime show·time or show time n. 1. The time at which an entertainment, such as the showing of a movie, is scheduled to start. 2. Slang The time at which an activity is to begin. Noun 1. for political "has-beens" and "wannabes Wannabes is an online interactive soap and game created for the BBC by Illumna Digital. Wannabes follows on from Jamie Kane, the BBC's previous foray into online interactive drama. The show/game consists of 14 10 minute episodes released twice a week. " from deep left field who unwrapped their latest populist project. Promoters include John B. Anderson John Bayard Anderson (born February 15, 1922) is a politician who was previously a member of the Republican Party. He was a U.S. Representative from Illinois and an Independent candidate in the 1980 presidential election. (former independent presidential candidate), former Rep. Tom Campbell (R-Calif.), former Senators Birch Bayh For Birch Bayh's son, Birch Evans Bayh III, see Evan Bayh. Birch Evans Bayh II (born January 22, 1928) was a U.S. Senator from Indiana between 1963 and 1981. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in the 1976 election but lost to Jimmy Carter. (D-Ind.) and Jake Garn Edwin Jacob Garn (born October 12, 1932) is an American politician, a member of the Republican Party, and served as a U.S. Senator representing Utah from 1974 to 1993. Garn became the first sitting member of the United States Congress to fly in space when he flew aboard the Space (R-Utah), Chellie Pingree Chellie Pingree (born April 2, 1955 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is the immediate past President and CEO of Common Cause, a nonpartisan citizens' lobbying group based in Washington, DC. Prior to that she served as the Senate Majority Leader in the Maine Senate. (President, Common Cause), and others. Populist Plan to Undermine the Electoral College Rankled by any institution which they perceive as less than pure democracy, these populists proposed a National Popular Vote Plan to change the way America chooses its chief executive. Each state's legislature is encouraged to enact legislation establishing a new, uniform method of selecting presidential electors electors, in the history of the Holy Roman Empire, the princes who had the right to elect the German kings or, more exactly, the kings of the Romans (Holy Roman emperors). . The program involves an agreement among participating states and goes into effect when adopted by enough states to constitute a majority (270) of the votes in the electoral college. The structure of the agreement is bizarre: * Each member state conducts a popular election for president and vice president. * The chief election officer of each state must determine the total popular vote for president/vice president in the entire nation even though some states may not have subscribed to the agreement. This is denominated the "national popular vote total." * Presidential candidates will name their own slate of electors. The state election officer will appoint the slate of electors pledged to the candidate who is chosen as the "national popular vote winner" to be the official electors for the state. It is now common practice for states to elect their presidential electors on the popular ballot, with the names of these electors appearing beside the presidential candidate whom they are pledged to support. This will be changed by the new system, and presidential electors will no longer be chosen by popular vote, but by one person only--the chief election officer in each member state. Note that the presidential candidate declared to be the "national popular vote winner" may thus win a state's electors even though he lost the popular vote in that state. * In member states, the chief election officer's determination of the "national popular vote total" is final and no provision for recount (an impossibility since it could be a nationwide recount) is made. Neither is there provision for judicial or other relief in the event of voter fraud. Special provisions are made to break tie votes in the popular presidential vote. * If any member state (acting only through its chief elections officer) selects too few or too many electors, the presidential candidate declared to be the "national popular vote winner" may appoint the presidential electors for that state. Note that the job of choosing the state's electors is thereby transferred to someone who is not a holder of public office nor even a citizen of the state in question. * Any member state can withdraw from the agreement, except for a window of six months prior to the expiration of a presidential term. If the withdrawal occurs within that window, it is effective only after an intervening presidential election. * The agreement terminates automatically if the electoral college is abolished--the real goal of the plan and its supporters. * The electoral college was created by Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution, which provides: "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in Congress." The duty of the electoral college is to elect the president and the vice president in a process specified in Amendment XII. The system provides a measure of equality between the large, populous states and the smaller ones. * Does the Constitution permit a state to select its presidential electors by a means other than popular election? Yes. The electoral college's enabling provision uses the word "appoint" rather than "choose" or "elect." However, in Article I, Section 10, the Constitution also declares: "No State shall, without the consent of Congress, ... enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State." Congress would be likely to approve a National Popular Vote Plan if popular support gave the plan impetus; nevertheless, it is significant that the plan has no mention of any mechanism for securing, or even the need to get, congressional approval. The plan is a schizophrenic schiz·o·phren·ic adj. Of, relating to, or affected by schizophrenia. n. One who is affected with schizophrenia. nightmare. It would bind states together into an amorphous mass of voters ostensibly os·ten·si·ble adj. Represented or appearing as such; ostensive: His ostensible purpose was charity, but his real goal was popularity. for popular election of presidents. Meanwhile the system reduces the less-populous states to a helpless irrelevancy ir·rel·e·van·cy n. pl. ir·rel·e·van·cies Irrelevance. Noun 1. irrelevancy - the lack of a relation of something to the matter at hand irrelevance . While professing pro·fess v. pro·fessed, pro·fess·ing, pro·fess·es v.tr. 1. To affirm openly; declare or claim: "a physics major "every vote equal," the system for choosing presidential electors could result in a member state selecting electors pledged to a presidential candidate who had lost the election in that state. Also, Lord Acton's adage about absolute power corrupting absolutely is exemplified in the power of the member states' chief election officer, who makes a final, unappealable determination of the "national popular vote winner." The National Popular Vote Plan becomes an invitation to corruption. Voter fraud, hard enough to prove and to remedy when done within the boundaries of any one state, becomes almost impossible to check under the plan. The National Popular Vote Plan forces one state to select electors on the basis of the popular election results for president in other states, where there is no opportunity for the first state to contest the election--but where significant vote fraud could have occurred. Constitutional infirmities linger. The Constitution empowers each state legislature A state legislature may refer to a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. The following legislatures exist in the following political subdivisions: The plan is, after all, a mix of the laws of many states coupled with congressional approval. The plan itself makes no provision for such relief. In such a situation, it would be a legal stretch for a judge to grant an injunction without specific statutory authority. What happens if a state withdraws from the agreement during the six-month window and fails to wait for an intervening presidential election as required by the plan before it pursues its own election laws? No other state has jurisdiction to prevent it. The plan provides no remedy and neither does federal law. All of these issues are food for protracted pro·tract tr.v. pro·tract·ed, pro·tract·ing, pro·tracts 1. To draw out or lengthen in time; prolong: disputants who needlessly protracted the negotiations. 2. , unnecessary, costly litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. . Politicians and Pundits Pile on the Bandwagon Despite the litany of infirmities, the National Popular Vote Plan has been introduced in a number of states including California. To date, none has completed the process of enacting it into law. It is important to remember that it is easier to oppose and stop bad legislation than it is to repeal it after it has passed. The usual suspects of the left-wing press ran with the story of the National Popular Vote Plan after it was announced at the press conference. Predictably, it has the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times' endorsement. The Times urged state legislatures to enact it. Falling in line were the Chicago Sun-Times This article is about the Chicago newspaper. For the Canadian newspaper, see Owen Sound Sun Times. The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago. , the Minneapolis Star Tribune For the Wyoming newspaper, see . The Star Tribune (also Star trib or Strib, as it is often referred to) is the largest newspaper in the U.S. , the Denver Post, the Houston Chronicle, and others. The National Popular Vote Plan is, or should be, an embarrassment to its promoters. To borrow a buzz word buzz word Noun Informal a word, originally from a particular jargon, which becomes a popular vogue word buzz word n → palabra que está de moda from the national education debate, it lacks "intelligent design." It is fraught with evil intentions. It must never be implemented. George Detweiler is a constitutional lawyer and former assistant attorney general for the state of Idaho. |
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