Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
But of course it is...
The Center for Media and Democracy's PR Watch reports ALEC Has Opposed "Popular Vote" Efforts Which Would Protect Against Partisan Rigging of Electoral College:
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has actively lobbied against state plans to implement a national popular vote for president, urging state legislators to preserve the Electoral College -- which GOP legislators are now trying to rig to ensure the the next president is a Republican. In late 2011, ALEC officially changed its policy on the Electoral College to implicitly support allocating electoral votes by congressional district.
In December 2011, ALEC reconfirmed its support for the Electoral College, but with one tweak -- official ALEC policy no longer supports allocating electoral votes based on the winner of a state's popular vote for president.
Republican leaders, including Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus, have been criticized for recent proposals to allocate electoral votes according to the victor in each Congressional district, rather than according to the winner-take-all system. This change would significantly benefit the GOP's presidential chances, in part because Republicans were able to re-draw Congressional districts to favor their party after the 2010 elections.
The proposals come on the heels of a 2011-2012 legislative term where Republicans proposed bills to twist the democratic system for partisan gain through restrictive voter ID and registration requirements, many of which can be traced back to ALEC "model" bills.
* * *
The bipartisan organization National Popular Vote (NPV) has been promoting an interstate compact where states agree to award their electoral votes to the winner of the nationwide popular vote, rather than according to votes within the state. Choosing the president by way of the Electoral College is part of the U.S. Constitution, but NPV notes that Article II leaves it up to state legislatures to decide how to allocate electors. Such an agreement between states would help create a more level playing field, particularly when compared to the Republican effort to split Electoral College votes in blue states but continue the "winner-take-all" method in red states.
* * *
Eight states and the District of Columbia have passed national popular vote compact legislation into law. A national popular vote would take effect if the legislation is enacted by enough states to constitute a majority of electors (270 out of the country's 538 electoral votes), and these nine enactments count for 132 electoral votes, bringing NPV nearly halfway to its goal of 270.
ALEC has pushed back hard against this effort. The group has adopted model resolutions in opposition to the national popular vote and in favor of the Electoral College, has repeatedly rejected appeals from NPV to support its legislation, and has actively lobbied legislators in opposition to the national popular vote interstate compact.
Continue reading ALEC Has Opposed "Popular Vote" Efforts Which Would Protect Against Partisan Rigging of Electoral College.
Recent Comments