9.30.1 MYTH: The rights of voters from states outside the compact would be diminished because they would not have an equal opportunity to influence the selection of the President.
QUICK ANSWER:
- A quick reading of the National Popular Vote compact will disprove the claim that “For a state outside the compact, voters’ rights are diminished because they would not have an equal opportunity to influence the selection of the President in the Electoral College.”
- The National Popular Vote compact would count votes from all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the “national popular vote total”regardless of whether the state belongs to the compact.
- All voters in all states would be treated equally under the National Popular Vote compactregardless of whether their state belongs to the compact.
In a New York Times forum on the National Popular Vote compact, Professor Emeritus Martin G. Evans of the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, said:
“For a state outside the compact, voters’ rights are diminished because they would not have an equal opportunity to influence the selection of the president in the Electoral College.” [Emphasis added]
Professor Robert Hardaway of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law said:
“The idea is as few as 13 states can enter into a conspiracy. That is an agreement to basically cut out all of the other states.”[552],[553] [Emphasis added]
WND published a “WND Exclusive” subtitled “Plan Would See Majority-Dem States Decide Presidency for All Voters.” The article states:
“Al Gore’s claim that an end to the Electoral College will ensure all voters get equal representation in a popular vote is contradicted by a recently released book that documents how the ‘popular vote’ campaign could see only 14 statesthose with the largest populations, most of which are majority-Democratdecide the presidency for voters in all 50 states.”
“‘There is a very interesting movement under way that takes it state by state that may really have a chance of succeeding,’ [Gore] said.”
“That ‘interesting movement’ is dissected in the recently released New York Times bestselling book, Fool Me Twice: Obama’s Shocking Plans for Four More Years Exposed, by Aaron Klein and Brenda J. Elliott.”
“‘Under the rubric of a National Popular Vote, the plan would allow the 14 most populous American states, mostly majority-Democrat, to determine the outcome of future presidential elections. The voters of the 36 less populous states would then effectively be disenfranchised,’ warn Klein and Elliott.”[554] [Emphasis added]
If one simply reads the National Popular Vote compact, it is evident that all of the above statements by Professor Martin G. Evans, Professor Robert Hardaway, and WND are false.
Voters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia would be treated equally by the National Popular Vote compactregardless of whether their state belongs to the compact.
The popular-vote counts from all 50 states and the District of Columbia would be included in the “national popular vote total” regardless of whether or not the jurisdiction happens to be a member of the compact.
The first clause of Article III of the compact provides:
“ the chief election official of each member state shall determine the number of votes for each presidential slate in each State of the United States and in the District of Columbia in which votes have been cast in a statewide popular election and shall add such votes together to produce a ‘national popular vote total’ for each presidential slate.” [Emphasis added]
That is, the compact counts the popular votes from member states on an equal footing with those from non-member states. Votes from all 50 states and the District of Columbia are included in calculating the “national popular vote total.”
All of the above incorrect statements are apparently based on the speaker’s incorrect belief that only votes from the member states are added together to determine the awarding of the electoral votes possessed by the member states.
Footnotes
[552] Debate at the League of Women Voters of Larimer County, Colorado on June 28, 2012, involving Professor Robert Hardaway of University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Professor Robert Hoffert of Colorado State University, Elena Nuñez of Common Cause of Colorado, and Patrick Rosenstiel of Ainsley-Shea. YouTube video at 31:53. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_yCSqgm_dY.
[553] Our response to Professor Hardaway’s claim that the National Popular Vote compact would involve only 13 states is covered in section 9.1.23. Our response to Professor Hardaway’s claim that the National Popular Vote compact is a “conspiracy” is covered in section 9.16.8.
[554] WND Exclusive: Gore’s ‘popular vote’ scheme to ensure Democrat rule? Plan would see majority-Dem states decide presidency for all voters. WND. August 31, 2012. http://www.wnd.com/2012/08/gores-popular-vote-scheme-to-ensure-democrat-rule/.