MONTPELIER -- Gov. Jim Douglas vetoed his fourth bill Friday -- his third election-related rejection of the just-adjourned session.

Friday's veto dealt with a bill calling for Vermont to join an interstate compact in which states would agree to award their electoral votes to the presidential candidate who received the most votes in the nation. All but two states award their electoral votes to winners within their borders. Maine and Alaska split electors based on the results of presidential voting within their congressional districts.

In his veto letter, Douglas argued, "S.270 would fundamentally alter the presidential election method prescribed in the U.S. Constitution" and "contribute to the undoing of the delicate balance that the Electoral College maintains among the states."

"I am not willing to cede Vermont's voice in the election, and ultimately in the operations of our federal government, to the influence and interests of larger states that would most assuredly prevail in all but the rarest occasions," Douglas argued.

Douglas noted, too, that the proposed compact was intended to circumvent the lengthy process required to amend the U.S. Constitution.

"I'm surprised he did it," said Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham. White headed the Senate Government Operations Committee that recommended passage of the bill. "He's wrong. The bill doesn't skirt the constitution."

White promised, "We'll try again."

Virginia Renfrew represented Common Cause in the Legislature and lobbied for the bill. "It's disappointing," she said, noting that the bill received strong support in the both the House and Senate. She said, too, that a poll conducted by supporters found "that 75 percent of Vermonters would like the president elected by popular vote."

Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, disagreed with Douglas' contention that the current system protected Vermont's interests.

"The state wouldn't be ignored if the number of votes you could get out of Vermont mattered," Burns said.

"You now have a governor who has vetoed every pro-voter bill that has been put to him this year," Burns said. Douglas rejected the Legislature's second try at setting new restrictions on campaign contributions and a proposal to allow instant run-off voting in the election of Vermont's representatives in Congress. He also let a bill become law without his signature that allows Vermonters to self-administer the voter's oath when signing up to vote.

Contact Nancy Remsen at 229-1298 or nremsen@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com