Electoral College Pigeonholed, National Popular Vote Adopted in Multiple States

This proposal calls for an interstate compact that requires every state's electoral votes to be cast behind the winner of the popular vote.

Maryland Governor O'Malley after signing SB 634, the state's National Popular Vote bill. SB 634 takes effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes enact identical legislation.

(Salem, Ore.) - In April of 2007, Governor Martin O'Malley of Maryland became the first to sign the National Popular Vote bill (NPV), enacting state legislation to guarantee that the presidential candidate who receives the most votes in all 50 states will win the Presidency. The Maryland bill takes effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes enact identical legislation. There are 538 electoral votes in total, and a majority is 270. The basis of the bill, aside from fixing an obsolete and flawed system, is the prevention of a repeat of 2000's presidential election, in which Al Gore won the majority of the popular vote, but George W Bush won the white house by electoral count. In the week of January 6th, New Jersey Gov. John Corzine signed the NPV into law, making it the second state to adopt the new system. That same week, both houses of the Illinois General Assembly passed a law that would enable Illinois to bypass the Electoral College in future presidential elections. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's office says he hasn't decided whether to sign it. Maryland, with ten electoral votes, and New Jersey, with fifteen, leaves America 245 votes to go until electoral majority is reached on this issue. Hawaii and the group's home-state, California have both passed legislation endorsing the National Popular Vote plan, but Governors Linda Lingle (R) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) vetoed the bill. With a whopping 55 delegate count, California would be a pivotal asset to the National Popular Vote cause. The rest of the fifty states will be voting on the NVP bill in 2008. The group that started this historical chain of events in American descent is a non-profit group called National Popular Vote Inc. The founder of the group is Dr. John R. Koza, a computer scientist and consulting professor at Stanford University. Dr. John R. Koza Dr. Koza's reputation precedes him, featured recently in Popular Science Magazine with his 'invention machine', evolutionary programming that alters its own code to find far more complex solutions to problems. The invention machine has created antennae, circuits, and lenses, and has received a patent from the US Patent Office. Other accomplishments of Dr. Koza's include the co-founding of Scientific Games Corporation, a company which built computer systems to run state lotteries in the United States. He is also responsible for the scratch-off lottery ticket. Dr. Koza first made public his idea of circumventing the more than two-hundred-year-old electoral college system in 2006. His proposal calls for an interstate compact that requires every state's electoral votes to be cast behind the winner of the popular vote. "We're just coming along and saying, 'Why not add up the votes of all 50 states and award the electoral votes to the 50-state winner?'" The Electoral College A fifth-grade student will tell you that a democracy is a system of government where the leader is elected by the vote of the people. What students often don't fully comprehend, is that only 538 people's votes actually affect the outcome of the presidency. In this advanced age, voting for a president without taking the actual vote into account seems ludicrous and archaic to many. Some of the initial reasons for the electoral college? For starters, it all began before anyone had heard of a telephone, a calculator, a computer, the Internet, or any other modern invention that is so important in our everyday lives. Without adequate means of communication, it was necessary for the voting populace to send a limited number of delegates representing the majority of the people's vote for the presidency. The electoral college was initiated at a time when only land-owning white men spoke of politics or voted. Amendments allowing women and men of all races to vote have since been passed and changed the face of our society- but the old world formula for election remains commonplace. Illinois is a perfect example of the flaws in our current system. A "safe" blue state, neither party is motivated to campaign there. The winner in Illinois gets 21 electoral votes, and the loser gets nothing. As a result, it is widely understood that Illinois voters play virtually no role in shaping the issues of the election. Their voices are not heard. This does not bode well for increasing voter turnout. Many Americans are excited about the National Popular Vote bill, and the enthusiasm seems well supported. University students have optimistic opinions at campuses all over the United States, their sights set on a future that mandates each person's vote count equally. Throughout this year, one of the most pivotal advancements in American history, bypassing the Electoral College, will be voted on in every state. And, history may be made, again. Here is a link to a free downloadable copy of 'EVERY VOTE EQUAL: A State-Based Plan For Electing The President By National Popular Vote' by By John R. Koza, Barry Fadem, Mark Grueskin, Michael S. Mandell, Robert Richie, and Joseph F. Zimmerman, courtesy of Every-vote-equal.com