The silent battle over presidential election procedures wages on, and Massachusetts has officially fallen. Last week Gov. Deval Patrick signed legislation entering the state into National Popular Vote’s interstate compact, bringing NPV’s total electoral votes to 72 (of the needed 270). Yet Save Our States is seeing to it that the “silent” aspect of this battle ends and discussions happen out in the open. These are your presidential votes,...
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Late last week, the Massachusetts state senate voted to approve the National Popular Vote bill. The house had already approved the measure in June. These votes mean that Massachusetts is almost certain to become the sixth state to approve NPV. But, as they say, it ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings. There is still a chance (however small) that NPV will die in Massachusetts this year. Massachusetts’s legislative...
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According to National Popular Vote, it don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that swing. Voters outside of “swing states,” NPV’s materials claim, are “spectators to the presidential election” and are “effectively disenfranchised.” A closer look reveals that NPV’s claims come from a superficial understanding of political campaigns that does not survive under the scrutiny of common sense. The suggestion that certain votes or voters matter more than...
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The Electoral College was one of the least controversial provisions of the original Constitution. The state-by-state way we elect the President of the United States gives each state a number of Electoral Votes equal to the sum of their U.S. Representatives and Senators (and Washington, D.C., gets three). Nearly all states award all of their electoral votes to the candidate who receives the most votes in their state (Nebraska...
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Next week, the Cato Institute will host two leading legal scholars in a debate about the merits of the Electoral College. Tara Ross, author of Enlightened Democracy: The Case for the Electoral College (it’s in our bookstore), will face off against Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin, who is also a professor of constitutional law at American University’s Washington School of Law. Tara has also written a forthcoming article for...
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The Delaware Senate spent portions of this week considering HB 198, which would commit the state to NPV’s anti-Electoral College scheme. The House already approved the legislation last year, so senate approval would send the bill to the Governor’s desk. The Senate has three legislative days left in which it could still approve the bill. Save Our States director Trent England was in Dover earlier this week. He and...
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Tonight Save Our States is hosting a Citizens’ Briefing to explain the importance of the Electoral College and the threat of the National Popular Vote plan. A lot of people don’t like the Electoral College. Even more people don’t understand it. There are plenty of arguments for the institution’s irreplaceable contribution to American liberty and prosperity—like how it protects representation and minority rights, preserves national stability, gives every voter...
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Last week, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed National Popular Vote (NPV) legislation, part of the attempt to unravel the Electoral College without amending the Constitution. Yesterday, the New York State Senate passed the same bill. In each state, the measure moves to the other legislative chamber for consideration. So far this year NPV has failed to be enacted in any state. The legislation seeks to create an interstate...
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Yesterday I posted the information for our “Protect Michigan Votes” briefing in Redford, MI. After cross-posting on www.LibertyLive.org, one commenter asked why Save Our States—a group based in Olympia, WA—cares what happens to Michigan’s electoral votes? There are three reasons (in addition to my being a native Michigander, of course). First, Michigan citizens and policymakers deserve the facts before they make their decision. NPV wants states to sidestep the...
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