Delaware Legislature Passes National Popular Vote Plan Bill

On March 14, the Delaware House passed SB 22 by 24-17. This is the National Popular Vote Plan bill. It is now through the legislature, and Governor John Carney has already said he will sign it.

Some critics of the plan say the existing system is designed to help small states. This is not factually or historically true. But, aside from that, the plan has now passed the legislature of 6 jurisdictions that have only three or four electoral votes, out of 13 jurisdictions that have three or four electoral votes. It has passed in Delaware, D.C., Hawaii, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont; it has not passed in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.


Comments

Delaware Legislature Passes National Popular Vote Plan Bill — 14 Comments

  1. US Constitution, Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3: “No State shall…enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State.”

    National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Obviously won’t hold up in any court. Thirteen states just wasting their time.

  2. NPV — A dumb idea that doesn’t solve a problem, but, rather, trades one problem for another. The proper solution to bad EC outcomes, IMO consists of (a) either district election of electors or proportional allocation of electoral votes based on the state outcome, and (b) increasing the size of the House (long overdue), which will increase the size of the EC and make its vote more reflective of the national vote. I don’t think that states will go to complete proportional EV allocation based on the popular vote within the state, but it would be useful in cases where no candidate gets a majority of the state’s votes.

  3. Per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact

    Maine – died in committee, back in committee. When did it pass?

    Alaska – when was it even ever introduced? Ditto for Montana, North and South Dakota, and Wyoming?

    Idaho & New Hampshire – in committee. How long do their sessions go?
    According to Wiki’s chart, similar legislation in committees in a number of other states. Is this chart accurate? Up to date? If not, Wiki is user edited, so there’s a task for someone in the know.

  4. @TomP – I agree on increasing the size of the house, but not to a crazy level of thousands as some have suggested. Just use the population of the least populous state (currently Wyoming) as the baseline figure. According to my math, it works out to something like 620 Congress critters. A modest increase.

  5. @JB I like that idea. By basing Congressional representation on a factor of the least populous state, the outcome of the distribution is very proportional. Is there any movement supporting that particular proposal?

  6. Well I jumped to a conclusion earlier. Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 reads: “No state shall, without the consent of Congress, …enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State.” Thus, the NPV compact COULD actually be implemented, but, since “Congress” means BOTH chambers, the Senate would have to become as equally batsh*t crazy as Pelosi’s House. They are certainly on their way. I am worried.

  7. There have been many interstate compacts between states that were not approved by Congress. The US Supreme Court has had quite a few cases about interstate compacts, and the court, starting in the 19th century, has ruled that not every interstate compact needs to be approved by Congress. Also the Constitution does not say when the consent of congress to an interstate compact must be given. Precedents have permitted Congress to act years after the interstate compacts were agreed to and were in operation.

    The reference book “Every Vote Equal” has a 30-page chapter about this subject.

  8. RW — more subversion of the Constitution by the SCOTUS HACKS —

    more unconstitutional ops to be OVER-ruled.

    Sorry — NPV = attempted subversion also of 14-1 and 14-2 —

    Results OUTSIDE of a State rigging results INSIDE a State.

    DIVIDE THE USA ASAP RED COMMUNIST REGIMES WITH MAX TAXES VS BLUE FASCIST REGIMES WITH MIN TAXES — BEFORE CIVIL WAR II HAPPENS.

  9. JB — DATES AT BOTTOM OF ALL WIKIS.

    ANY PRO NPV SPECIAL WEBSITE WITH CURRENT INFO ABOUT THE MACHINATIONS IN THE STATES ???


    ABOLISH THE EC.

    UNIFORM DEFINITION OF VOTER IN ALL OF THE USA.

    PR AND APPV

  10. It is not an interstate compact in the constitutional sense as it does not actually require the cooperation of any other state, just relies on the promise of such to trigger the NPV. Each state legislature is empowered to select electors in any way it deems fit – state popular vote, national popular vote, random lottery a la jury duty, sell to the highest bidder, or whatever else they choose. Whether other states abide by the NPV commitment is up to them and not legally binding as far as a different state which enters into the “compact” goes. That is, if Hawaii enters the NPV and Delaware does as well, Delaware has no recourse if Hawaii welshes on the deal. Citizens of Hawaii would, however.

  11. ALL FOLKS — COUNT THE NUMBER OF *SHALL* MENTIONS IN THE MACHINATION/SCHEME BELOW.

    NO LIMIT ON THE DEFINITION OF VOTER IN THE LAST SENTENCE V-8 — CHILDREN, WORLD CITIZENS IN RUSSIA, CHINA, ETC. ???

    ELECTING A USA PREZ/VP AIN’T SOME *MINOR* INTERSTATE COMPACT MATTER IN THE USA – LIKE SOME ANTS CROSSING A STATE LINE.

    *****

    http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/sites/default/files/eve-4th-ed-ch6-web-v1.pdf

    PP 258-260 — LEGAL TEXT — REGARDLESS OF ALL HYPE/SPIN/LIES.

    —-

    The Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote

    Article I— Membership
    I–1 Any State of the United States and the District of Columbia may become a member of this agreement by enacting this agreement.
    Article II— Right of the People in Member States to Vote for President and Vice President
    II–1 Each member state shall conduct a statewide popular election for President and Vice President of the United States.
    Article III — Manner of Appointing Presidential Electors in Member States
    III–1 Prior to the time set by law for the meeting and voting by the presidential electors, 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.
    III–2 The chief election official of each member state shall designate the presidential slate with the largest national popular vote total as the “national popular vote winner.”
    III–3 The presidential elector certifying official of each member state shall certify the appointment in that official’s own state of the elector slate nominated in that state in association with the national popular vote winner.
    III–4 At least six days before the day fixed by law for the meeting and voting by the presidential electors, each member state shall make a final determination of the number of popular votes cast in the state for each presidential slate and shall communicate an official statement of such determination within 24 hours to the chief election official of each other member state.
    III–5 The chief election official of each member state shall treat as conclusive an official statement containing the number of popular votes in a state for each presidential slate made by the day established by federal law for making a state’s final determination conclusive as to the counting of electoral votes by Congress.
    III–6 In event of a tie for the national popular vote winner, the presidential elector certifying official of each member state shall certify the appointment of the elector slate nominated in association with the presidential slate receiving the largest number of popular votes within that official’s own state.
    III–7 If, for any reason, the number of presidential electors nominated in a member state in association with the national popular vote winner is less than or greater than that state’s number of electoral votes, the presidential candidate on the presidential slate that has been designated as the national popular vote winner shall have the power to nominate the presidential electors for that state and that state’s presidential elector certifying official shall certify the appointment of such nominees.
    III–8 The chief election official of each member state shall immediately release to the public all vote counts or statements of votes as they are determined or obtained.
    III–9 This article shall govern the appointment of presidential electors in each member state in any year in which this agreement is, on July 20, in effect in states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes.
    Article IV—Other Provisions
    IV–1 This agreement shall take effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have enacted this agreement in substantially the same form and the enactments by such states have taken effect in each state.
    IV–2 Any member state may withdraw from this agreement, except that a withdrawal occurring six months or less before the end of a President’s term shall not become effective until a President or Vice President shall have been qualified to serve the next term.
    IV–3 The chief executive of each member state shall promptly notify the chief executive of all other states of when this agreement has been enacted and has taken effect in that official’s state, when the state has withdrawn from this agreement, and when this agreement takes effect generally.
    IV–4 This agreement shall terminate if the electoral college is abolished.
    IV–5 If any provision of this agreement is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall not be affected.
    Article V—Definitions
    V–1 For purposes of this agreement, “chief executive” shall mean the Governor of a State of the United States or the Mayor of the District of Columbia;
    V–2 “elector slate” shall mean a slate of candidates who have been nominated in a state for the position of presidential elector in association with a presidential slate;
    V–3 “chief election official” shall mean the state official or body that is authorized to certify the total number of popular votes for each presidential slate;
    V–4 “presidential elector” shall mean an elector for President and Vice President of the United States;
    V–5 “presidential elector certifying official” shall mean the state official or body that is authorized to certify the appointment of the state’s presidential electors;
    V–6 “presidential slate” shall mean a slate of two persons, the first of whom has been nominated as a candidate for President of the United States and the second of whom has been nominated as a candidate for Vice President of the United States, or any legal successors to such persons, regardless of whether both names appear on the ballot presented to the voter in a particular state;
    V–7 “state” shall mean a State of the United States and the District of Columbia; and
    V–8 “statewide popular election” shall mean a general election in which votes are cast for presidential slates by individual voters and counted on a statewide basis.

  12. TOTAL EVIL BIAS in current rotted system —

    Smallest States —

    MIN 1 USA Rep
    + 2 USA Senators
    = MIN 3 EC Votes

    1787 OLIGARCHY MATH.

    Geography accidents that larger pop States have not been close to each other.

    Abolish Senate and EC.

    PR and NON-partisan AppV

  13. 1787 top secret Fed convention of oligarchs —
    Blatant conspiracy of small and slave States.

    Result — the 3 ANTI-Democracy minority rule gerrymander systems —

    H. Reps, Sen, EC

    It shows in the entire history of the regime since 4 Mar 1789 —

    undeclared wars, genocide of American Indians, slavery allowed in SW territories – later States, Civil War I, insane deficits, worse insane national debt, etc., etc.

    NO surprise that little DE (in 1787 both a small and slave State) was the 1st State to ratify.

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