CT lawmakers pass measure to give electoral votes to presidential candidate who wins popular vote

[babylonsister]

http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/385123-connecticut-lawmakers-pass-measure-to-give-electoral-votes-to

Connecticut lawmakers pass measure to give electoral votes to presidential candidate who wins popular vote
By Jacqueline Thomsen - 04/26/18 09:22 PM EDT


The Connecticut state House passed a measure Thursday that would give the state’s electoral votes to the presidential candidate who won the popular vote, if enough states promise to do the same.

The bill would have the state join an interstate compact that grants participating states’ votes to candidates who wins the popular vote, the Hartford Courant reported.

However, the compact doesn’t go into effect until enough states join for the group to have 270 electoral votes – the amount a presidential candidate must earn to win the Electoral College.

Ten states have joined the group so far, representing a total of 165 electoral votes.

Support for the compact grew after both President Trump and former President George W. Bush won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote.

The measure to join the interstate compact passed the Connecticut state House 77-73, largely along party lines. Three conservative Democrats voted against the measure, and only one Republican supported it, according to the Courant.

Republicans debated whether the measure was constitutional because it changed the election process without approval from Congress.

"This is an act of political theater, artificial gimmick," Rep. David Labriola (R) said, the paper reported. “This is something that is not necessary, is not constitutional.’’

Democrats pushed back against the argument, saying that the Electoral College wouldn’t be eliminated.

“We could make a profound change that would enhance confidence, participation, excitement of a presidential election in small and large states alike,” said Rep. Daniel Fox (D).

The Courant reported that the state attorney general hasn’t given lawmakers an official legal opinion on the measure.

The measure now moves on to the Connecticut state Senate, which is also divided on the bill. President Pro Tem Martin Looney (D) has backed the measure, as has Gov. Dannel Malloy (D).

[CTyankee]

1. We gotta do something. This is getting really serious and needs a remedy.

HELP!

[ProudLib72]

2. Every state in the union has introduced this legislation

There is a very important chart on the national popular vote wikipedia page detailing how each state's congresses have dealt with the legislation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact

For those who don't believe state elections matter so much, consider the chart and then consider what it would have meant if there had been enough states join in the compact before 2016. Yes, we would have had president HRC.

[tritsofme]

3. There is no enforcement, this regime would fall quickly apart.

More than likely, the compact would dissolve the first time it was tested.

If the compact was in place, and the national popular vote and the traditional electoral college result were again in conflict, it would necessarily mean that at least one state in the compact would be compelled to cast their electoral votes against their state voters.

So let's say in 2024, the Democratic candidate would have won the traditional electoral college count, but narrowly loses the popular vote. And this is definitely something everyone in the media would be discussing. If a state like California is in the compact, I have a hard time believing they would stand back and cast all of the state's electoral votes for the Republican, even as the Democratic candidate got nearly 60% of their vote. More than likely, CA would renege on the pact, and allow the Democrat to become president. Without wide-wide adoption, the exit of a state like CA would likely deprive the compact of it's electoral majority. This sort of conflict is inevitable in such an unstable and unenforceable compact, real change on the electoral college requires an amendment.