Here’s a weird item in the GOP platform (hat tip @EzraKlein).
We oppose the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact or any other scheme to abolish or distort the procedures of the Electoral College.
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is basically a way to circumvent the non-democratic aspects of the electoral college system without needing to amend the constitution. The candidate who wins the popular vote nationwide is the candidate who moves into the white house. Period. You get the most votes, you win.
What would the implications of this be? Well, for starters Republicans in California would have a reason to go to the polls. For the first time in over twenty years their vote for president would actually count, would actually bring their candidate incrementally closer to victory. Likewise Democratic voters in, say, Utah would have a reason to vote. It would also mean that candidates would actually have to campaign in places other than Ohio, Florida and a handful of other swing states. They’d actually have to run a nationwide campaign, attempt to appeal to each and every voter no matter where they lived–not just retirees in The Villages or union workers in Akron. Their policy positions might begin to better reflect the nation at large.
All of this seems great, right? And, because of the way the NPVIC works, you don’t have to amend the Constitution! All you do is get each state legislature to pass a law saying that their electoral college votes go to the candidate which wins the popular vote. The end.
But wait! What if other states don’t play along? No problem. Part of the law you pass in the state says, essentially, these changes don’t go into effect until other states constituting a majority of electoral college votes have passed similar laws. Done.
If you ask me, it’s genius. It forces candidates to make themselves attractive to more voters. It forces them to campaign in places other than the most hotly contested states. It enfranchises minority party voters who live in very blue or very red states. And it does it all without monkeying with the constitution.
Voters seem to like the idea, too. Democrats support it to the tune of 78%. 73% of independents like it. Republicans favor it at a rate of 60%.
The Republican party leaders, of course, are against it.
It’s not hard to see why. The electoral college system elevates the votes of people living in less populous states to a level of importance and influence that their raw numbers wouldn’t otherwise dictate. That is, Wyoming gets more influence on national politics than the number of people who live there actually warrant. These rural, less populous states tend to vote Republican.
So basically that’s it. The electoral college system–as strange and undemocratic as it is–benefits the Republican party, so they’re against this more democratic way of implementing it.
People still can’t get over the Bush/Gore situation, eh? Never let that pesky constitution get in the way of political expediency I guess.
By your standards Scott, the United States Senate is “strange and undemocratic” too because the Senators from Rhode Island have the same voting strength as the ones from California.
The US was never intended to be a pure democracy. If enough people would like to change it into one the changing the constitution is the proper mechanism for it.
Scott, while I respect your viewpoint, you really need to read a bit more on American history to understand why we have the presidential election system that we do.
The U.S. is a collection, or federation, of sovereign STATES and it is the States that elect the leader of the federation, not just the population. The U.S. is not like some giant PTA or fraternity organization. The NPVIC gets the ‘pesky’ States out of the way.
We elect the President in 50 separate elections as a Federal election, not in one giant National election.
The strength of America lies in huge part to the fact that we have 50 separate States that compete in a healthy way with each other for all kinds of things and with all kinds of ideas, including governance. As one or more States improve, then others may follow suit and that is how, over time, the entire nation has improved.
This NPV scheme is truly a nutty idea that circumvents the Constitution by exploiting a loophole that the schemers think exists.
What you are advocating here is that YOU would be willing to be a Member of your state legislature and go all over your District and proclaim to your neighbors, co-workers and constituents that YOU want your State to enter into a contract with just a handful of other States to throw the federal election. (Those are my words – of course, you would choose your own.)
You would tell your constituents that you want your State to be compelled by the contract to conduct an expensive statewide popular election to determine how the People in YOUR State want the State’s electoral votes are cast for President. (Remember, the NPVIC “preserves” the Electoral College, which is a disingenuous ‘item’, but that’s another problem to deal with later).
AND you would tell your local voters that as a Member of THEIR legislature, you would then totally ignore and throw away THEIR vote RIGHT AFTER that election in November, if the People of Your State happened to disagree with the National popular vote. YOU would then, as a legislator, cast ALL of your State’s votes for a candidate YOUR people voted AGAINST – OR, who MIGHT not have even appeared on your State’s ballot!
I don’t think you or any other State legislator has the courage needed to walk their own streets if the NPV Compact that you sold to your voters triggered that to happen, which it would only one week after the November election!
In fact, I predict in that week following the election, there will be at least ONE State where the legislature succumbs to the outrage of the people and REFUSES to change their own State popular vote, violate the NPV Compact and cast their votes as their people wanted.
The Supreme Court has already ruled that the Courts will not intervene in a dispute like that, so the constitutional MESS that the NPV will set off is amazing.
The nation was designed with an ingenious set of Checks and Balances and the Electoral College design of electing our President is one of them. It preserves the American Federation. The NPVIC does more to weaken and destroy the American Federation than anything since the Civil War.
The NPVIC solves NONE of the problems that it advertises it will solve. It seeks to change the rules without going through the proper Constitutional Amendment process to do so. It seeks to eliminate the requirement – in place since Day One of our Nation – that the President be elected by a Majority of the States.
You endorse this NPV scheme where, in a field of only 4 or 5 candidates, that a handful of States would throw a landslide Electoral victory to a candidate who conceivably only earned 34% of the national popular vote! Remember, under the NPV, “the candidate with the MOST votes wins.” YOU would select as the President, with only 11 to maybe 16 States agreeing to do it, a candidate where easily 66% of the American population voted AGAINST him or her!
Why is that not astonishing to you?
No where did the Founders provide for the popular election of the President, but they DID provide for the popular election of the House of Representatives – it is part of those pesky Checks & Balances. Preserving the sovereignty of our States was paramount to all of them.
No where in the founding documents of America was the term ‘democracy’ ever used and yet, the term ‘republic’ is used repeatedly.
The ONLY thing that determines where presidential campaigns spend their time and money (the so-called ‘swing states’) is where the STATE has not been able to make up its mind about which way it will vote. Many States have already made up their minds who they want to vote for, on both the Right and the Left, in advance – BUT THAT DOES NOT NEGATE THEIR VOTES.
The NPVIC simply changes the so-called “problem” of ‘swing states’ to ‘swing Metropolitan Areas’. It creates NO added resources for more campaigning in more places.
There are numerous other major problems with the NPV, but suffice it to say, that with all due respect, I disagree with your support of the NPVIC for the sale of preserving our Federation.
The NPV Compact is massively flawed and hides a true agenda of its backers. It really needs to be defeated at every turn.
Changing the constitution isn’t necessary to implement a de facto popular vote election for president.
I’m quite aware of federalism. I’m quite aware of the fact that the senate, and the way they are allocated, is very “federalist.” I’m not asking for that to be changed. States are real things that have special powers in such a system. But the fact is, there is wide support for electing presidents by popular vote.
Also, I wasn’t thinking of Bush/Gore. Did Gore win the popular vote? I’m not even sure I know the answer to that. I’m thinking about the enfranchisement voters would feel. I’m thinking about candidates having to appeal to a wider range of voter interests. These are good things no matter how you slice it.