National Popular Vote -- Electoral college reform by direct election of the President

Responses to Myths about the National Popular Vote Plan

Changing the way we elect the President is an important topic that deserves careful scrutiny. This document provides responses to concerns that have been raised during the course of the debate on the National Popular Vote bill.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1	Myths about the U.S. Constitution
2	Myth that Candidates Reach Out to All the States under the Current System
3	Myth that "Wrong Winner" Elections are Rare
4	Myths about the Low-Population States and Rural States
5	Myths about High-Population States and Big Cities
6	Myth about State Identity
7	Myths about Absolute Majority Requirement, Proliferation of Candidates, and Breakdown of the Two-Party System
8	Myths about Extremist and Regional Candidates
9	Myths about Logistical Nightmares Arising from Differences in State Laws
10	Myths about Faithless Electors
11	Myths about Post-Election Changes in the Rules of the Game, Withdrawal, and Enforceability
12	Myth about Campaign Spending
13	Myths about Election Administration
14	Myths about Lack of an Official National Count for Presidential Elections and Secret Elections
15	Myths about Recounts
16	Myths about Federalism
17	Myths about Interstate Compacts and Congressional Consent
18	Myths about Encroaching on Federal Sovereignty and State Sovereignty
19	Myth about Our Republican Form of Government
20	Myths about Mob Rule
21	Myth about an Incoming President's Mandate
22	Myth about Presidential Power
23	Myth about the 12th Amendment
24	Myths about the 14th Amendment
25	Myths about the Voting Rights Act
26	Myth about a Federal Election Bureaucracy
27	Myths about the District of Columbia
28	Myths about Congressional or Proportional Allocation of Electoral Votes
29	Myth That One State Can Derail the National Popular Vote Compact
30	Myth about Decline in Voter Turnout
31	Myth that the National Popular Vote Compact is a Conspiracy
32	Myth that our Nation's Freedom, Security, and Prosperity Are Protected by the Winner-Take-All Rule
33	Myth about the Replacement of a Dead, Disabled, or Discredited Presidential Candidate
34	Myth That the Winner-Take-All Rule Produces Good Presidents

DETAILED TABLE OF CONTENTS

1	Myths about the U.S. Constitution
	1.1	MYTH: A federal constitutional amendment is required to change the current method of electing the President.
	1.2	MYTH: The "appropriate", "traditional", and "normal" way of changing the method of electing the President is by means of a federal constitutional amendment.
	1.3	MYTH: The Electoral College would be abolished by the National Popular Vote compact.
	1.4	MYTH: The Founding Fathers designed and favored our nation's current system of electing the President.
	1.5	MYTH: The Founding Fathers considered our nation's current system of electing the President to be "excellent".
	1.6	MYTH: The National Popular Vote plan should be rejected because it is opposite to what the Founders wanted, and only their "failure of imagination" prevented them from explicitly prohibiting it.
	1.7	MYTH: Respect for the Constitution demands that we go through the formal constitutional amendment process.
	1.8	MYTH: The most democratic approach for making a change in the manner of electing the President is a federal constitutional amendment.
	1.9	MYTH: "Eleven colluding states" are trying to impose a national popular vote on the country.
	1.10	MYTH: A federal constitutional amendment is the superior way to change the system.
	1.11	MYTH: It is inappropriate for state legislatures to consider changing the method of electing the President.
	1.12	MYTH: The National Popular Vote compact is unconstitutional because it would prevent a tie in the Electoral College and thereby deprive the U.S. House of Representatives of its rightful opportunity to choose the President.
	1.13	MYTH: The National Popular Vote bill is unconstitutional because it circumvents the Constitution's amendment procedures.
	1.14	MYTH: The National Popular Vote bill is unconstitutional.
2	Myth that Candidates Reach Out to All the States under the Current System
	2.1	MYTH: The current system ensures that presidential candidates reach out to all states.
	2.2	MYTH: A national popular vote will simply make a different group of states irrelevant in presidential elections.
3	Myth that "Wrong Winner" Elections are Rare
	3.1	MYTH: "Wrong winner" elections are rare, and therefore not a problem.
4	Myths about the Low-Population States and Rural States
	4.1	MYTH: The low-population states would be disadvantaged by a national popular vote.
	4.2	MYTH: The low-population states are so small that they will not attract any attention under any system.
	4.3	MYTH: The least populous states are opposed to a national popular vote for President.
	4.4	MYTH: Equal representation of the states in the U.S. Senate is threatened by the National Popular Vote plan.
	4.5	MYTH: The Republican Party enjoys a partisan advantage from the low-population states in presidential elections.
	4.6	MYTH: The distribution of political influence envisioned by the Great Compromise would be upset by a national popular vote.
	4.7	MYTH: The rural states would lose an electoral advantage under a national popular vote.
5	Myths about High-Population States and Big Cities
	5.1	MYTH: Only the 11 most populous states would matter under a national popular vote.
	5.2	MYTH: California would swamp the low-population western states under a national popular vote.
	5.3	MYTH: The South would be swamped by high-population Democratic states under a national popular vote.
	5.4	MYTH: Big cities, such as Los Angeles, would control the election under a national popular vote.
	5.5	MYTH: Candidates would only campaign in media markets, while ignoring the rest of the country.
	5.6	MYTH: Under a national popular vote, candidates would concentrate on major metropolitan markets because the cost per advertising impression is lower there.
	5.7	MYTH: The current system prevents 11 states from electing the President.
6	Myth about State Identity
	6.1	MYTH: The public strongly desires that electoral votes be cast on a state-by-state basis because it provides a sense of "state identity".
7	Myths about Absolute Majority Requirement, Proliferation of Candidates, and Breakdown of the Two-Party System
	7.1	MYTH: The National Popular Vote plan is defective because it does not require an absolute majority of the popular vote to win.
	7.2	MYTH: The National Popular Vote plan is defective because it does not provide for a run-off.
	7.3	MYTH: A national popular vote will result in a proliferation of candidates, Presidents being elected with 15% of the vote, and a breakdown of the two-party system.
8	Myths about Extremist and Regional Candidates
	8.1	MYTH: Extremist candidates will proliferate under a national popular vote.
	8.2	MYTH: Regional candidates will proliferate under a national popular vote.
9	Myths about Logistical Nightmares Arising from Differences in State Laws
	9.1	MYTH: Logistical nightmares would plague a national popular vote because of differences among the states concerning ballot access requirements, ex-felon eligibility requirements, and poll closing times.
	9.2	MYTH: A state's electoral votes could be awarded to a candidate not on a state's own ballot, and out-of-state persons could become presidential electors.
10	Myths about Faithless Electors
	10.1	MYTH: Faithless presidential electors would be a problem under the National Popular Vote compact.
	10.2	MYTH: It might be difficult to coerce presidential electors to vote for the national popular vote winner.
	10.3	MYTH: Presidential electors might succumb to outside pressure and abandon the national popular vote in favor of the winner of the popular vote in the state.
11	Myths about Post-Election Changes in the Rules of the Game, Withdrawal, and Enforceability
	11.1	MYTH: A state legislature might change a state's method of awarding electoral votes after the people vote in November, but before the Electoral College meets in December.
	11.2	MYTH: A Secretary of State might change a state's method of awarding electoral votes after the people vote in November, but before the Electoral College meets in December.
12	Myth about Campaign Spending
	12.1	MYTH: Campaign spending would skyrocket if candidates had to campaign throughout the country.
13	Myths about Election Administration
	13.1	MYTH: Local election officials would be burdened by the National Popular Vote compact.
	13.2	MYTH: The state's chief elections official would be burdened by the National Popular Vote compact.
	13.3	MYTH: The National Popular Vote compact would burden the state's chief election official with the need to evaluate the election returns of other states.
	13.4	MYTH: The National Popular Vote compact would be costly.
	13.5	MYTH: Post-election audits cannot be conducted under a national popular vote.
14	Myths about Lack of an Official National Count for Presidential Elections and Secret Elections
	14.1	MYTH: There is no official count of the national popular vote.
	14.2	MYTH: A single state could frustrate the National Popular Vote compact by making its election returns a state secret.
15	Myths about Recounts
	15.1	MYTH: The current system typically produces undisputed outcomes, and problems are rare.
	15.2	MYTH: The current system acts as a firewall that helpfully isolates recounts to particular states.
	15.3	MYTH: Resolution of a presidential election could be prolonged beyond the inauguration date because of recounts.
	15.4	MYTH: Conducting a recount would be a logistical impossibility under a national popular vote.
	15.5	MYTH: States would be put in the uncomfortable position of judging election returns from other states under a national popular vote.
	15.6	MYTH: Fraud and mischief would be magnified under a national popular vote.
	15.7	MYTH: A recount might be warranted, but unobtainable, under the National Popular Vote compact.
16	Myths about Federalism
	16.1	MYTH: Federalism would be undermined by a national popular vote.
17	Myths about Interstate Compacts and Congressional Consent
	17.1	MYTH: Interstate compacts are exotic and fishy.
	17.2	MYTH: The National Popular Vote compact is defective because Congress did not consent to the compact prior to its consideration by state legislatures.
	17.3	MYTH: The National Popular Vote compact is defective because it fails to mention Congress in its text.
	17.4	MYTH: The National Popular Vote compact requires congressional consent to become effective.
18	Myths about Encroaching on Federal Sovereignty and State Sovereignty
	18.1	MYTH: The National Popular Vote compact encroaches on federal sovereignty.
	18.2	MYTH: The National Popular Vote compact encroaches on state sovereignty.
19	Myth about Our Republican Form of Government
	19.1	MYTH: A national popular vote violates the concept that the United States is a republic, not a democracy.
20	Myths about Mob Rule
	20.1	MYTH: A national popular vote would be mob rule.
	20.2	MYTH: The Electoral College acts as a buffer and damper against popular passions.
21	Myth about an Incoming President's Mandate
	21.1	MYTH: The current winner-take-all system gives the incoming President a "mandate" in the form of an exaggerated lead in the Electoral College.
22	Myth about Presidential Power
	22.1	MYTH: The President's powers would be changed by a national popular vote.
23	Myth about the 12th Amendment
	23.1	MYTH: The Meeting Clause of the 12th Amendment precludes the National Popular Vote compact.
24	Myths about the 14th Amendment
	24.1	MYTH: Section 2 of the 14th Amendment precludes the National Popular Vote compact.
	24.2	MYTH: The Privileges and Immunities Clause of the 14th Amendment precludes the National Popular Vote compact.
	24.3	MYTH: The Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment precludes the National Popular Vote compact.
	24.4	MYTH: The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment precludes the National Popular Vote compact.
25	Myths about the Voting Rights Act
	25.1	MYTH: Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act precludes the National Popular Vote compact.
	25.2	MYTH: The political influence of racial and ethnic minorities would be diminished by a national popular vote.
26	Myth about a Federal Election Bureaucracy
	26.1	MYTH: A federal election bureaucracy would be created by the National Popular Vote compact
27	Myths about the District of Columbia
	27.1	MYTH: The National Popular Vote compact would permit the District of Columbia to vote for President, even though it is not a state.
	27.2	MYTH: Because it is not a state, the District of Columbia may not enter into interstate compacts.
	27.3	MYTH: Only Congress may enter into interstate compacts on behalf of the District of Columbia.
	27.4	MYTH: Only Congress may change the winner-take-all rule for the District of Columbia.
	27.5	MYTH: Because it is not a state, the District of Columbia cannot bind itself by means of an interstate compact.
	27.6	MYTH: The enactment of the National Popular Vote compact by the District of Columbia Council is incomplete because Congress has not approved the Council's action.
28	Myths about Congressional or Proportional Allocation of Electoral Votes
	28.1	MYTH: It would be better to allocate electoral votes by congressional district.
	28.2	MYTH: It would be better to allocate electoral votes proportionally.
29	Myth That One State Can Derail the National Popular Vote Compact
	29.1	MYTH: There is an "Achilles' heel" that enables one discordant state to derail the National Popular Vote compact.
30	Myth about Decline in Voter Turnout
	30.1	MYTH: A national popular vote will decrease turnout.
31	Myth that the National Popular Vote Compact is a Conspiracy
	31.1	MYTH: The National Popular Vote compact is a conspiracy.
32	Myth that our Nation's Freedom, Security, and Prosperity Are Protected by the Winner-Take-All Rule
	32.1	MYTH: Our nation's freedom, security, and prosperity are protected by the current winner-take-all method of awarding electoral votes.
33	Myth about the Replacement of a Dead, Disabled, or Discredited Presidential Candidate
	33.1	MYTH: The Electoral College provides a way to replace a dead, disabled, or discredited President-Elect after the people vote in November, but before the Electoral College meets in December.
34	Myth That the Winner-Take-All Rule Produces Good Presidents
	34.1	MYTH: The winner-take-all method for awarding electoral votes produces good Presidents.