Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Is Your Vote In Danger?


It seems that there is a proposal afoot that is a threat to the way we vote here in North Carolina. Further, this proposal that has already been passed as law in at least four states (as of July 2008, this interstate compact has been joined by Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, and New Jersey; their 50 electoral votes total amount to almost 19% of the 270 needed for the compact to take effect), could nullify our voice as a state in presidential elections held in the future. The troubling thing about this proposal is that it has been instigated by forces and organizations outside of the state, and not within North Carolina itself.

If this is passed as law, here is what the scenario would be like:

1. North Carolinians go to the polls to vote
2. The Democratic candidate for president wins in the state by a margin of 54% to 46%, so he gets the 13 Electoral College votes from North Carolina. Right? Nope. Not under this proposal.
3. On the overall national level however, the Republican candidate has a 51% to 49% lead in the popular vote. So, under this proposal, the candidate who has the majority of the popular vote from voters in states other than North Carolina gets all the Electoral votes from North Carolina...and the electoral votes from any other state that passes this proposal into law.

So, in essence the protections now in place that would prevent the large, heavily populated states (the figures in parentheses after the named states is their 2003 populations) from always determining the next president would be null and void. That's right. If the majority of New York (9,190,115), Florida (17,019,068), California (35,484,453), Illinois (12,653,544), Texas (22,118,509), Ohio (11,435,798), Pennsylvania (12,365,455), and Michigan (10,079,985) voters cast their ballots for the candidate of one party, that candidate would receive all the electoral votes from each and every state he or she LOST in, if that state passed this proposal into law.

What this proposal is saying in essence is this: You dumb hicks in the outlying provinces called states don't have enough smarts or common sense to understand what is good for the country, but the rest of us in the United States do. So, we will ensure that is we who will always determine what course this nation will take, because we are the United States, and we are the will of the country. You are just onlookers.

For those of you living in other states, don't feel too smug and comfortable. This proposal will be... if it already hasn't been... brought before your state legislatures as well. Remember, this has been passed as law in four states already. It essentially nullifies the the votes of the people in those states. This proposal is a threat to your vote no matter what party you belong to, or don't belong to. Where this proposal passes into law, the votes of the voters in those states will essentially be meaningless if the majorities in those states vote for a candidate who does not win the popular vote overall. What this would mean, is a candidate who wins the popular vote in the heavily populated states mentioned above
would receive not only the Electoral College votes from those states they win, but, also from the states where they lost.

I fail to see how this could be anything other than unconstitutional, but, then, with the way the courts today rule, who knows. I do suggest that you look into this proposal being sneaked in to your state's legislative agenda, because this is not being reported by the media at all. For a media that prides itself in its so-called defense of freedom, they are being deafeningly silent on this matter. Perhaps it is because they agree with the pundits who see the U.S.A. as being the blue states, and the red states as being everyone else.

For more information on these shenanigans, please go to:

http://www.johnlocke.org/news_columns/display_story.html?id=4064



















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