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Thread: Electoral College in danger

  1. #1

    Electoral College in danger

    The National Popular Vote bill has now been signed into law in states possessing 61 electoral votes. This is almost one-quarter of the 270 electoral votes needed to bring the National Popular Vote interstate compact into effect.

    Maryland – 10 electoral votes
    New Jersey – 15 electoral votes
    Illinois – 21 electoral votes
    Hawaii – 4 electoral votes
    Washington – 11 electoral votes

    They are upping the efforts to get rid of it

    http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/



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  3. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Pepsi View Post
    The National Popular Vote bill has now been signed into law in states possessing 61 electoral votes. This is almost one-quarter of the 270 electoral votes needed to bring the National Popular Vote interstate compact into effect.

    Maryland – 10 electoral votes
    New Jersey – 15 electoral votes
    Illinois – 21 electoral votes
    Hawaii – 4 electoral votes
    Washington – 11 electoral votes

    They are upping the efforts to get rid of it

    http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/
    They have to Amend the Constitution, otherwise it will most certainly be struck down after the first election cycle to use nothing but 'the popular vote'.
    "Democracy, too, is a religion. It is the worship of jackals by jackasses." - H.L. Mencken

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    "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." - William Pitt


  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Brooklyn Red Leg View Post
    They have to Amend the Constitution, otherwise it will most certainly be struck down after the first election cycle to use nothing but 'the popular vote'.
    No they don't. The constitution gives the state the right to appoint electors in any way each state sees fit, so the states that adopt this legislation agree to appoint electors according to the national popular vote.

    It's an end run around amending the Constitution.

  5. #4
    Not quite sure what to think of this. On the one hand, it would get rid of redistricting problems, but on the other, it would probably give more power to urban voters at the expense of rural voters.

    -t

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Brooklyn Red Leg View Post
    They have to Amend the Constitution, otherwise it will most certainly be struck down after the first election cycle to use nothing but 'the popular vote'.
    No, they don't have to using this procedure because the Constitution allows the states to distribute electors however they please. I am disappointed to say the least that Washington is on the list. I had no idea it was even being considered here.
    http://www.ronpaul2012.com/
    Quote Originally Posted by GK Chesterton
    It is often supposed that when people stop believing in God, they believe in nothing. Alas, it is worse than that. When they stop believing in God, they believe in anything.
    Quote Originally Posted by Rt. Hon. Edmund Burke
    Nothing is so fatal to religion as indifference.

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by tangent4ronpaul View Post
    Not quite sure what to think of this. On the one hand, it would get rid of redistricting problems, but on the other, it would probably give more power to urban voters at the expense of rural voters.

    -t
    Redistricting problems have to do with the House of Reps. It only plays an extremely minor role in the Electoral College.
    http://www.ronpaul2012.com/
    Quote Originally Posted by GK Chesterton
    It is often supposed that when people stop believing in God, they believe in nothing. Alas, it is worse than that. When they stop believing in God, they believe in anything.
    Quote Originally Posted by Rt. Hon. Edmund Burke
    Nothing is so fatal to religion as indifference.

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by angelatc View Post
    No they don't. The constitution gives the state the right to appoint electors in any way each state sees fit, so the states that adopt this legislation agree to appoint electors according to the national popular vote.

    It's an end run around amending the Constitution.
    Having many, many, many more reps - as originally intended would make the reps more responsive to the voters and largely negate corporate lobbying efforts.

    -t

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by tangent4ronpaul View Post
    Having many, many, many more reps - as originally intended would make the reps more responsive to the voters and largely negate corporate lobbying efforts.

    -t
    Yes more Reps and Senators are needed.



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  11. #9
    All the states that on board with this are liberal Democrat states.

    Therefore, in all likelihood, in order for these laws ever to result in making a difference in a presidential election, it would have to be in a situation where the Democrat wins the electoral votes, but the Republican wins the popular vote, in which case these liberal states that would have otherwise delivered their electors and the White House to the Democrat, will instead, because of their own laws, have to deliver their electors and the White House to the Republican instead.

    Or, to generalize this fact without making it a partisan thing, for any state to pass such a law as this, the only time is will ever take effect will be when that state, because of this very law, will have to force its electors to vote for a candidate other than the one who won the most votes in that state.

    I don't know why any state would ever want to pass a law that would require its electors to vote against what the people of that state choose in the election. But if that's what they want to do, it's their loss.

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by erowe1 View Post
    All the states on board with this are liberal Democrat states.

    Therefore, in all likelihood, in order for these laws ever to result in making a difference in a presidential election, it would have to be in a situation where the Democrat wins the electoral votes, but the Republican wins the popular vote, in which case these liberal states that would have otherwise delivered their electors and the White House to the Democrat, will instead, because of their own laws, have to deliver their electors and the White House to the Republican instead.

    Or, to generalize this fact, apart from any partisan terms, for any state to pass such a law as this, the only time is will ever take effect will be when that state, because of this very law, will have forced its electors to vote for a candidate other than the one who won the most votes in that state.

    I don't know why any state would ever want to pass a law that would require its electors to vote against what the people of that state choose in the election. But if that's what they want to do, it's their loss.
    It doesn't matter yet at all. The law they passed only applies after states adding up to 270 electoral votes pass it.
    http://www.ronpaul2012.com/
    Quote Originally Posted by GK Chesterton
    It is often supposed that when people stop believing in God, they believe in nothing. Alas, it is worse than that. When they stop believing in God, they believe in anything.
    Quote Originally Posted by Rt. Hon. Edmund Burke
    Nothing is so fatal to religion as indifference.

  13. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by nate895 View Post
    It doesn't matter yet at all. The law they passed only applies after states adding up to 270 electoral votes pass it.
    Right, but once that happens, the only way it will ever take effect will be so as to make some states force their own electors to vote for a candidate other than the one the majority of voters in that same state picked.

    And since the participating states are overwhelmingly Democrat strongholds, these laws, if they ever made a difference in the outcome of an election, would almost certainly do so by putting a Republican in office that the people of those states voted against.

  14. #12
    i am trying to come up with a good message that could be use agianst this. Is this one to long, not good anothe? what you think.


    "Part of the reason the Electoral College is in danger is because its role in our government is a mystery. Many Americans today have little knowledge of the intent behind the Electoral College.

    This national effort to dismantle the Electoral Collegeare being led by a group called National Popular Vote (NPV), which is attempting to achieve direct popular election of the president without using a constitutional amendment. Leaders of NPV are making an end-run around the diffi cult process of amending theConstitution by instead asking states to pass legislation establishing a multi-state compact that would result in the direct election of our president. ! eir objective is to tie all the various states’ electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, even if the majority of a state’s citizens vote against that particular candidate.

    The National Popular Vote bill has now been signed into law in states possessing 61 electoral votes. This is almost one-quarter of the 270 electoral votes needed to bring the National Popular Vote interstate compact into effect.

    Maryland – 10 electoral votes
    New Jersey – 15 electoral votes
    Illinois – 21 electoral votes
    Hawaii – 4 electoral votes
    Washington – 11 electoral votes

    Just how little regard does NPV have for smaller states? Such as the Gem State?

    Enough that they can be completely excluded from the process without as much as a whimper. According to NPV’s website," National Popular Vote bill would reform the Electoral College by guaranteeing the Presidency to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and the District of Columbia). The bill would enact the proposed interstate compact entitled the ‘Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote.

    ’The compact would take effect only when enacted, in identical form, by states possessing a majority of the membership in the Electoral College (that is 270 of 538 electoral votes)."

    Therefore, states that pass the NPV legislation will pledge their presidential electors to the winner of the national popular vote, rather than the state popular vote, thus assuring that the winner of the national popular vote receives a majority in the Electoral College. And it will only take the consent of states that together make up 270 electoral votes, leaving smaller states with no say at all.

    Advocates of this movement believe the Electoral College is a relic. They believe a direct national popular vote would be more democratic, would recognize the nationwide presidential preference, and would truly carry out the dream of equal representation.

    The Founding Fathers had seen the dangers of placing ultimate power into a single set of human hands. Accordingly, they feared that placing unlimited power to elect the president into the politically naive hands of the people could lead to a "tyranny of the majority." In response, they created the Electoral College system as a process to insulate the selection of the president from the whims of the public.

    Preserving Federalism. The Founding Fathers also felt the Electoral College system would enforce the concept of federalism -- the division and sharing of powers between the state and national governments.

    Under the Constitution, the people are empowered to choose, through direct popular election, the men and women who represent them in their state legislatures and in the United Sates Congress. The states, through the Electoral College, are empowered to choose the president and vice president.

    Critics argue that by taking the selection of the president out of the hands of the public at large, that Electoral College system flies in the face of democracy. America is, after all, a democracy, is it not? Let's see.

    Two of the several recognized forms of democracy are:

    * Pure or Direct Democracy -- All decisions are made directly by a majority vote of all eligible citizens. By their vote alone, citizens can enact laws and select or remove their leaders. The power of the people to control their government is unlimited.

    * Representative Democracy -- The citizens rule through representatives who they elect periodically in order to keep them accountable. The power of the people to control their government is thus limited by the actions of their elected representatives.

    The United States is a representative democracy -- under a "republican" form of government as provided for in Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution which states, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in the Union a Republican form of Government..." (This should not be confused with the Republic political party which is merely named after the form of government.)

    In 1787, the Founding Fathers, based on their direct knowledge of history showing that unlimited power tends to become tyrannical power, created the United States as a republic -- not a pure democracy.

    The Founders were unanimous in their desire that no single entity, be it the people or an agent of the government be given unlimited power. Achieving a "separation of powers" ultimately became their highest priority.

    The critics, can they really say that in 213 years of operation, the Elector College system has produced bad results? Have thier fears ever come true? Only twice in its history have the electors stumbled and been unable to choose a president, thus throwing the decision into the House of Representatives. Who did the House decide on in those two cases? Thomas Jefferson and John Quincy Adams.

    As a part of their plan to separate powers and authority, the Founders created the Electoral College as method by which the people could choose their leader while avoiding at least some of the dangers of a direct election.."
    Last edited by Pepsi; 02-01-2010 at 04:27 PM.

  15. #13
    Isn't this really a treaty between the states? If it is then it is specifically forbidden in the Constitution.

  16. #14
    Would love to see mess that gets created when the popular vote is so close that it requires a recount.

  17. #15
    xxxxx
    Last edited by Voluntarist; 07-27-2018 at 10:30 PM.
    You have the right to remain silent. Anything you post to the internet can and will be used to humiliate you.

  18. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Voluntarist View Post
    There was a MAY2008 thread on this, but I thought I'd bump this one to provide an update... given the renewed attention the Electoral College is getting due to Hillary's whining.

    Six more states have been added since the OP, but none in the last three years. That brings the EV total to 165 (61% of the total needed)

    JURISDICTION
    EV
    DATE
    Maryland
    10
    2007-04-10
    New Jersey
    14
    2008-01-13
    Illinois 20
    2008-04-07
    Hawaii 4
    2008-05-01
    Washington 12
    2009-04-28
    Massachusetts 11
    2010-08-04
    District of Columbia 3
    2010-12-10
    Vermont 3
    2011-04-22
    California 55
    2011-08-08
    Rhode Island 4
    2013-07-12
    New York 29
    2014-04-15









    To get rid of the Electoral College you need to amend the Constitution. That would require 2/3rds of both houses of Congress and three fourths of states to agree. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.54a14cd2582e



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  20. #17
    xxxxx
    Last edited by Voluntarist; 07-27-2018 at 10:30 PM.
    You have the right to remain silent. Anything you post to the internet can and will be used to humiliate you.

  21. #18
    xxxxx
    Last edited by Voluntarist; 07-27-2018 at 10:30 PM.
    You have the right to remain silent. Anything you post to the internet can and will be used to humiliate you.

  22. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Voluntarist View Post
    I didn't know they were doing it here in Illinois either. It's like it's being done in stealth. What's more there are republicans involved in introducing it. See Kansas for instance

    I think it ought to be getting some airtime so that people can react.
    You assume people would care.



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