Any endeavor has unintended consequences. Any ill-conceived endeavor has more. Stephen Tobolowsky, The Dangerous Animals Club
Electoral College 101
The USA elects Presidents through a mechanism known as “The Electoral College” (EC). The current design has been in place since 1804 as a political compromise to protect state sovereignty and the republic. Each state is granted a number of electors equal to the sum of its representatives in the House plus the two senators it sends to the Senate.
In all but two states, these electors are bound to cast their ballots for the popular vote winner in their state. Florida, for example, has 27 House Representatives and two Senators. This gives the state 29 electoral votes. If candidate X wins the popular vote for Florida, all twenty-nine electors are expected to cast their EC vote for X. There are exceptions but these are rare and a subject for another day.
The current makeup of the EC allows for 538 electors nationally. To get an EC majority, the successful candidate must win 270 electoral votes. How to win this number has become a topic of dispute.
Change or Stand Fast?
Because several close elections have resulted in the EC winner having fewer popular votes than the opponent, an argument has been put forth in recent years to abolish the EC. This is not a realistic option. Since the Constitution established the EC, abolishment would require a Constitutional amendment.
The push for election by a popular vote, therefore, hinges on working with the EC to create a mechanism approximating a total vote winner. This mechanism is known as the “National Popular Vote Interstate Compact” or NPV. The NPV stipulates that once the number of state signees reaches the 270 EC vote threshold, those states will be able to pledge their EC votes to the national popular vote winner even if that puts their votes at odds with vote totals within their states.
Current NPV Status
As of this writing fifteen states plus DC have joined NPV. The EC vote total
for the pact members is 193. If the 2020 election swing states join NPV, the EC vote total jumps to 277. Since 270 is the threshold for EC victory, swing vote participation is vital to the NPV.
Florida HB 67 Elections by NPV
Despite the fact that Florida is no longer considered a swing state, HB 67 was filed in September of this year and is currently moving through committees. The bill proposes to pledge Florida’s electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote.
Since Florida controls 29 electoral votes it is an attractive state for addition to the NPV. Citizens and legislature must exercise extreme caution prior to action. Consider, if Floridians vote for candidate X but the opponent wins the national popular tally by 100 votes, then all of Florida’s 29 electoral votes are pledged to the candidate they voted against. This is the reality of HB 67.
The opening quote is very familiar to most of us and serves as motivation to vigorously evaluate all possible outcomes before committing to action. This is a subject that requires careful discussion and debate between us and our legislators.
COS strongly encourages discourse on matters basic to the original structure of our republic. Remember to share your opinions to your local representative. They need to hear your voice if they are expected to represent you.
