Dirty Trick Flatlines

This thing is done.

The initiative to change how California's Electoral College votes are awarded in the race for the White House will not appear on the June statewide ballot, according to campaign officials.

In a brief statement e-mailed to reporters this afternoon, the California Counts political team said they are now shooting for the November ballot after being unable to gather enough signatures in time for this week's drop-dead June deadline.

"Due to the tight calendar we are operating under and the challenge of raising money and gathering signatures during the Holiday season," says the statement, "we understand that submitting signatures and having them counted in time to make the June ballot, is no longer a realistic goal."

It will get slaughtered if it makes the November ballot. The whole point of the Dirty Trick was to ready it for June, a low-turnout election with a lot of other Republican initiatives up for grabs. In November, there will be a Presidential race and an expected high turnout. I'd actually sign a petition to get it on the ballot in November. I'd LOVE to give a reason for progressives and Democrats to get out to the polls and energetic to beat back a Republican dirty trick. It would be a great help down-ballot, especially in those close Congressional races.

Fantastic. And you have to wonder whether a ballot measure that managed to only gather 500,000 signatures in a state of 38 million people is all that popular, anyway. The Dirty Tricksters would be better off cutting their losses and packing it in. I sincerely hope they don't.

UPDATE: Here's the full story in the Sacramento Bee.

California Counts has until Feb. 4 to submit their signatures. Gilliard's statement said his group had collected more than 500,000 signatures; political strategists believe they need about 700,000 to ensure they have enough valid ones to meet a state threshold.

"CalCounts will continue with its fundraising and signature drive because we believe Californians deserve the right to vote on this important initiative to reform the Electoral College and to make our state count again in presidential elections," Gilliard said in the statement.

Bwahahahahahahaha!