CA: Senate backs plan to give electoral votes to popular vote winner

AP - San Luis Obispo Tribune ^ | Aug. 22, 2006 | DON THOMPSON

[norton]

Maybe you should reread the original post...it ain't a state by state thing.
Apparently seeks to drop the original safeguard against mob rule for ... mob rule.

("Democracy" as such was believed to be too volatile, too likely to be infected by knee jerk issues (and the yellow press); the electoral college is a buffer between the masses and the institutions that maintain governance.)

Point of the electoral college is essentially to slow the process, to make it unlikely that today's hot topic might have undue influence on tomorrow's policies - remember that four years back then was fairly fast response.

Sounds distasteful, but consider how the 'popular vote' might have run in 1939...

[Alia]

Tom McClintock is absolutely right. This move by Democrats-for-Democrats is UNCONSTITUTIONAL. But then when the hey did the Democrats ever care for obeying "laws" that don't benefit themselves, personally.

[ballplayer]

Dont be a sucker ,this has Hillary all over it,she cant win with the electoral vote ,so all she has to do is campaign in the high population areas the big citys with all the give aways and she is in ,she will ignore real America.

[stylin19a]

usually state law\state constitution mandates who the electors must vote for (winner take all states)

some voters who vote other than how they are pledged are considered faithless electors.

wiki has a decent write up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_electors

[detsaoT]

The bill, which goes back to the Assembly for a final vote, would make California part of an interstate compact. The multistate agreement is part of a national campaign started in February by National Popular Vote, a nonprofit based in the Silicon Valley city of Los Altos that seeks to change the way the nation picks a president.

Interstate compacts still require the consent of the Congress in order to go into effect, do they not? What are the odds that the clowns on Capitol Hill will sign off on this?

[Myrddin]

California is more worried about the influence of 55 electoral votes vs actually representing the views of the voters in the state. The politicians are hijacking the process. The right way to do it is to take the winner of the popular vote in each congression district and award that electoral vote to that candidate. The two statewide electoral votes should be determined by the winner of the statewide popular vote. This approach would force the politicians to give equal weight and attention to every voter instead of pandering to just a few select large cities.

[Myrddin]

How stupid is the California State Senate?

FR doesn't have enough disk space to reveal all the details.

[PRND21]

Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, called the proposal "brazenly unconstitutional."

He's right. This bill must be stopped.

[Myrddin]

The Democrat power brokers in charge of the committees made sure only their preferred bill ever hit the floor for a vote.

[calcowgirl]

The Democrat power brokers in charge of the committees made sure only their preferred bill ever hit the floor for a vote.

Yep. That was my conclusion after viewing the prior failed legislation.