Recently SB-1512
was introduced to the Oregon Senate and is currently in the Oregon Senate
Committee on Rules.
It has had one public hearing as of the time of this
writing.
What is the National
Popular Vote Interstate Compact?
It is an agreement between member states to assign electoral
delegates, the people who vote in the Electoral College, based on the national
popular vote.
The way Oregon’s current system works is that we hold a
state wide popular vote. Each party chooses electors, presumably based on the
idea that they are going to vote for their party candidate (but that is not
always the case), and these are the people we are voting for.
Oregon has seven Electoral College votes and whoever wins
the statewide popular vote will end up with all seven votes. Winner takes all.
If we make the NPVIC law in Oregon part of your say in that
system will go away once the member states have reached the 270 electoral votes
needed to win the Presidency.
Once reaches that 270 needed, Oregon’s electors would vote
for the winner of the national popular vote as opposed to the Oregon popular
vote.
Drawing this out to its logical conclusion it would mean
that even if every single person in
the state of Oregon voted for candidate A, and the popular vote goes to
candidate B, all of Oregon’s seven elector votes will go to candidate B.
Power to the People
NPVIC likes to claim it is giving power to the people, that
a popular vote will make each vote count.
This might be true if a popular vote were part of the US
Constitution, applied nationally and went through the process agreed on by the
American people. Yet instead of working with the government of ‘We the People’ NPVIC
seeks to go around that government.
It will not get rid of the Electoral College, instead it
simply gives away any say your state might have to the national popular vote.
Meaning issues that affect states with the highest population will take highest
priority.
It removes the power of your vote from the local level and
places it on the national level. Under NPVIC people in high population states,
like California, Texas, and New York, will have a say in how your local state
votes in the Electoral College.
Progress Report
Currently 10 states and the District of Columbia have agreed
to be part of NPVIC. They are Maryland, New Jersey, Illinois, Hawaii,
Washington, Massachusetts, District of Columbia, Vermont, California, Rhode
Island, and New York.
This puts the total electoral vote count at 165, over half
way (61.1%) to the goal of 270. This movement has convinced these states to
give up their federal constitutional form of government and replaces it with a
federal popular form of government.
Even if you think a National Popular Vote is the way to go,
you should still oppose the NPVIC. It does not fix the system, instead it
simply lays another layer of bureaucracy over the top of it. A bureaucracy that
can void the votes of your state if they are not in alignment with the popular
vote.
If you want a national popular vote, you should do it
through the established method of changing the constitution. That way every
state will have a say, a chance to weigh the pros and cons for themselves and
make a choice based on their states needs and desires.
The NPVIC will only dilute your vote among the national
popular vote. Supporting this compact is willful submission to the tyranny of
the majority.
Do not give away your voting rights, they were hard won and
one of the most valuable tools an individual possess in maintaining freedom.
No comments:
Post a Comment