Election Reform Speed Bump In California

Yes, this is kind of scary. Apparently a Republican front group is trying to put an initiative on the ballot making California apportion its electoral votes through proportional representation, with each of its 53 Congressional districts up for grabs. This would be like giving the equivalent of the state of Ohio or Pennsylvania to the Republicans. The vote would likely go on the June 2008 ballot, where no Presidential or statewide candidate will be running. The electoral college needs to be tossed out, but as I said when talking about the North Carolina proportional representation plan, it shouldn't be piecemeal. Surprisingly, the NC bill was pulled from the floor of their Legislature because the DNC didn't want the California GOP to have an opening. That's a really stupid reason to pull the bill, because it's not like the GOP lawyers pushing this referendum in CA are going to look and that and say "Oh, OK, North Carolina backed down, we can stop our plans now."

Ultimately, I think the referendum will fail, despite the sleepy June ballot, because Democratic groups will use their institutional muscle to stop it. And the Democratic nominee will work hard to motivate his or her base as well. And everyone who resists the National Popular Vote plan must answer why enabling states to enact their own various pieces of legislation, rather than an interstate compact that doesn't take effect until it's meaningful, would somehow be an improvement.