We say it every election, especially fervently since the 2000 election of Dubya, but we never quite get around to doing anything about the Electoral College which we all seem to hate (with good reason!). In a tour of Philadelphia this summer, the guide pointed to the grave of one James Wilson as the founder who was the main architect of this bane of our presidential elections. I blame him.
While legislators distractedly move on to other topics after the dust clears, the public picks at that scab every 4 years. And now some folks have created an ingenious circumnavigation, nominally working within the Electoral College to ensure the Popular Vote reigns.
Enter the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. In this, legislation is being enacted to force Electors to cast their vote on the winner of the popular vote of the nation. So again, the chosen Electors of X state will be required by law to designate all their votes for the candidate who won the popular vote across all states. (This is a far cry from the inconsistencies of Elector requirements across the nation, wherein some states Electors can choose to ignore even the popular vote in his own state to cast a vote of his agenda.)
As of today this "has been enacted into law in 16 jurisdictions possessing 196 electoral votes, including 4 small states (DE, HI, RI, VT), 8 medium-sized states (CO, CT, MD, MA, NJ, NM, OR, WA), 3 big states (CA, IL, NY), and the District of Columbia. The bill will take effect when enacted by states possessing an additional 74 electoral votes."
Interesting to note that of the "perennial swing states", only Colorado has passed this so far, leaving Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin still pending or not even considering the measure.
On the website you can check the legislative process in your state, and generate emails to your representatives requesting they enact this, which is designed to bring the US closer to a real democracy and ensure the rule of the many.
Please share this with your friends, especially those living in the swing states.
(FYI, I learned about this on Rumble with Michael Moore, where he accidentally quoted the name of the website as “.org”… it is “.com”… if you can’t find it, just ask Uncle Google. )
