It looks like Republicans may keep the Electoral College alive and well. I wrote in November about the momentum of the National Popular Vote movement, which aims to sidestep the Electoral College by having states agree to give all their electoral votes to whichever presidential candidate wins the popular vote nationwide. The intent is to make sure the Electoral College can no longer seat presidents who haven’t won the popular vote, a phenomenon that’s occurred four times. So far, eight states – including California – and the District of Columbia have signed the compact, which would kick in when states with a combined total of 270 electoral votes have agreed to the plan.
Those on board so far account for 132 electoral votes – 49 percent of the way to the magic number for electing a president. I noted the Republican opposition in my earlier article – and pointed out that the eight states to sign up so far are all reliably blue. But GOP opposition appears more organized than I had thought.
While it drew little press attention, the Republican National Committee passed a resolution in 2011 opposing the measure. Surfside resident Shawn Steel, co-author of the RNC measure and former chairman of the state GOP, said that House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have signed letters opposing the states’ compact. Steel told me there is enough unity among Republicans now that none of the 29 GOP governors will sign the compact into law.
That leaves 13 states with Democrat governors where the compact has not yet been approved. Those states total 116 electoral votes, short of the additional 138 needed. “For the foreseeable future, it’s dead,” said Steel
Full Article: National Popular Vote foes coalesce | states, electoral, vote – News – The Orange County Register.