Peter Blake of the Rocky Mountain News lays out a not far-fetched scenario, based on what he calls “a laughingly transparent Democratic ploy” and a “fraud,” in which in this election Colorado could become much curiouser than Florida was last time.
Check it out.
So if I understand correctly the state would first have to determine the outcome of this proposition before it could declare how its electoral votes were to be apportioned. Hopefully sense will prevail and the proposal will be revised to not take effect until 2008. However, it shouldn’t take much to convince voters of what a terrible change this would be:
Colorado with nine winner-take-all votes and a reasonably divided electorate? Expect plenty of advertising dollars and federal pork to flow in.
Colorado in which a candidate’s best chance is to swing one electoral vote? You’ll be lucky to make the list in the next Dean scream.
I believe I have read that if this system is in place nationwide it’s net bad for the Democrats. I don’t think I would call this a “fraud” until someone works out the national implications.
Interesting, Andrew, as one would think a popular vote victory would lead to a win under such a nationwide system. I suppose there are a couple levels of rounding, in how the electoral votes are apportioned to the states and then again were they are divided within each state amongst the candidates. In 2000 I know Nader would have stolen at least one vote from Gore in California. And there are a few rural states which have three electoral votes but probably don’t actually have the population to be awarded that except that three is of course the minimum.
If they can make it retroactive for the 2004 election, why not the 2000 election? Think of it, we could still have President Gore.
Awww, come on now! Florida’s going to be a righteous mess this time, just like it was last time. Except even more so!
(from Sarasota)
PROPORTIONAL ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES?
Peter Blake reports on a ballot initiative in Colorado that will change how its electoral votes are cast: Colorado, like all but two other states, now operates on the winner-take-all principle. The presidential candidate who wins the popular vote in…
To Nels Nelson: Once an initiative is qualified for the ballot in Colorado, it can’t be “revised.”
I would like to think that us Colorado Republicans:
1) …can get this thing shot out of the air before it hurts anyone…
2) …in the event that the scenario plays out as written, wouldn’t sacrifice the long term for the short term…
3) …in the event that the scenario plays out as written, wouldn’t be such sore losers…
But I’m an optimist that way…
Sorry, Linda, I had missed that the initiative was already submitted. Hopefully the residents of Colorado will recognize that, were they to approve this proposal, as a Dave Kopel was quoted as saying in a Denver Post article I found on the issue, “a candidate would be nuts to spend time in Colorado.”