GOP efforts to rig the Electoral College in favor of GOP presidential candidates may be close to dead, but a group of Republicans are hard at work at another plot to blow up the system: switch to the popular vote.
Although more closely associated with progressive circles in recent years, the idea has a number of conservative activists behind it as well. And there are signs it’s gaining momentum.
“I think there’s a growing consensus that the winner-take-all system we’re currently under is a problem, that it’s not representative, that only a small number of states benefit, and that it needs to be changed,” Saul Anuzis, a Republican national committeeman from Michigan who advocates on behalf of the nonpartisan National Popular Vote group, told TPM. ...
... At this point, all it would take is one Democrat winning an election without the popular vote to spark a grassroots revolution. But by then the Democrats might have decided such talk is heresy that dishonors the memory of George Washington and, well, you can see why we still have the Electoral College today....Talking Points Memo
Watch closely as the Republican party cozies up to NPV -- National Popular Vote.
Ironically, ALEC -- the Republicans' infamous tool created to influence state legislatures -- stands against these efforts. Or have they just not caught up with the Republican party's latest claims? So far, they're still stuck with trying to manipulate the Electoral College vote.
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. ...Truth-Out
