Greetings.
This past week, I came across something that ought to spur to action every concerned patriot who values states' rights and individual liberty. I am referring specifically to the National Popular Vote (NPV) Interstate Compact.
In summary, this is an initiative that would essentially change the way electoral votes are allocated and given by individual states to presidential candidates in an election year. Whereas most states have traditionally awarded their electoral votes to the candidate receiving the most popular votes statewide, this new initiative, if enacted by state legislatures and signed into law, would enable states to award electoral votes based on the NATIONWIDE popular vote, as opposed to at the state level.
So far, NPV has been implemented by ten jurisdictions comprising 136 electoral votes (Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, Washington, DC, Maryland, Washington, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, and California) and is being considered by 33 chambers in 22 other states.
Let's understand something first: individual states have EVERY right to set their own law as it pertains to allocating and awarding electoral votes. Article II, section 1 of the U.S. Constitution make this very clear. However, this particular initiative would have dangerous ramifications for the American people as well as for the cause of liberty and fair elections.
Let's take California, for example. As many are aware, the Golden State has been a reliably blue state for many years. Under NPV, however, a Republican presidential candidate who takes the nation-wide popular vote would be awarded every one of California's electoral votes over the will of the voters. On the flip side, if traditionally red states like Georgia or Louisiana or Texas were to implement this initiative, a Democrat would claim the electoral votes of each of those states were a Democrat to claim the nationwide popular vote.
Can anyone with common sense seriously claim that either of those scenarios is a fair scenario?
Many proponents of this initiative have sought to justify NPV by making arguments against the current system, some of which are justified. One such argument is that the current system enables presidential candidates to "ignore" states in which they aren't likely to win and, instead, focus on ones that favor them as well as swing states that are up for grabs. Perhaps this is the case and perhaps candidates would do well to devise creative ways in which to campaign in those particular states. However, it is also absurd to think that a better strategy involves giving one state's entire electoral vote count to the candidate for whom the people did not vote.
A better argument in favor of NPV is the classic "popular vote" argument; in other words, because the winner of the popular vote DID NOT WIN in four out of our previous fifty-seven presidential elections, NPV (or something like it) is needed. Again, this is a fairly solid argument. After all, if elections are decided by the voters, then why shouldn't the popular vote carry more weight?
The Presidential election is a bit of a different animal, however, and with good reason. Historically, our country's method of electing a president did not involve a popular vote because of the remoteness and disconnectedness of most of the country at that time. In other words, it made more sense for Congress to meet in order to elect a president rather than have every citizen vote for a candidate for whom he or she might have never even heard of. While that is hardly the case today, thanks in no small part to technological advancement, it is still necessary for the President to be determined by electoral votes granted by the states based on THEIR popular vote. This is simply because individual states are to be SOVEREIGN and largely self-governing entities. Any measure that takes the electoral votes away from the determination of states' voters is a virtual muzzle for the states' voters and amounts to an almost unfathomable loss of voice and loss of liberty.
True patriots and those who are passionate about individual liberty ought to pay close attention to what is happening here and waste NO time in contacting your elected state representatives and state senators immediately if you discover that your state is considering adopting this measure. The right to vote, the right to have your voice heard and your vote count is invaluable and could very well be lost if NPV is passed by your state legislature.
http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/pages/explanation.php
Act today. And live free.
-Warren Brisbane
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