Tweet Last week was a lousy one for California-based National Popular Vote. After hiring six lobbyists and spending $80,000 lobbying in Madison, Wisconsin, they got Assembly Elections Committee Chairman Jeff Smith to schedule the bill for a hearing with less than two day’s public notice. And NPV’s lobbyists had convinced three Republicans to join...
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Tweet As I walked through the Wisconsin State Capitol last week talking with legislators and legislative staff, I saw the effects of citizens in action. Throughout the day, radio stations were alerting listeners about the bill. Several legislative staff members told me that calls and emails were coming in strong–and strongly against NPV. The...
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Tweet Mid-morning on Tuesday, two emails alerted me that Wisconsin’s NPV bill (AB 751) had suddenly been introduced and scheduled for a hearing before the Assembly Elections Committee—on Wednesday afternoon, the very next day. Could I come to Madison, one legislator asked, and help educate citizens and other lawmakers and perhaps testify at the...
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Tweet Maine’s National Popular Vote bill (LD 56) was brought to the House floor and solidly defeated on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. The vote was 95 against and only 50 for the bill. The floor action came just two weeks after the Save Our States visit to Augusta. Much of the credit for this...
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Tweet Today I had the pleasure of talking with two great legislators in Pennsylvania’s state capitol. The Commonwealth Foundation had suggested I speak with Senator Mike Folmer because of his understanding of and dedication to America’s founding principles. It turns out that Senator Folmer is one of the founders of COOL: the Constitutional Organization...
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Tweet “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 the Congress….” (Article II, Section 1) How did this constitutional provision become the NPV loophole? Hundreds of attempts to...
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Tweet National Popular Vote is pushing legislation onto the agendas of 45 state legislatures in 2010. Five have already signed on the dotted line. NPV prides itself on support from numerous legislators and an overwhelming majority of the voters they poll. Yet they seem, well, let’s say factually challenged. Last February, the Arkansas House...
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Tweet Great news. The Rhode Island House last week declined to adopt the NPV legislation, despite approving it last year. (Last year, both House and Senate approved the measure, but the Governor vetoed the bill.) Last week’s House vote was 28 for and 45 against. Providence Journal story on NPV in Rhode Island
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