On April 22, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle, a Republican, again vetoed the National Popular Vote bill. This year’s bill is SB 2898. Now the legislature has one week to decide whether to override it.
On April 22, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle, a Republican, again vetoed the National Popular Vote bill. This year’s bill is SB 2898. Now the legislature has one week to decide whether to override it.
Good for the Governor. Direct presidential election is foolish and dangerous.
Here! Here! People pushing for direct election have zero understanding of the nature of the union and the purpose of the national executive. A direct election would cause the presidency to be decided by about 10 major cities and the rest of us would be SOL. But it’s not about having a voice on the personal level. This union is one of States, it formed to handle the ‘international’ business of the States and therefore the States should pick the executive.
What we need is better education about the electoral college and for presidential contests to be waged in two stages:
1) contests for the electors themselves where the people decide who they shall be, rather than the parties, based on their positions, values, and integrity and knowledge of the business facing their state. (you vote for electors individually, not as a slate – 1 per congressional district and two state wide)
2) contests for the presidency itself, but directed to the electoral college rather than the general population since it is the electors who will be deciding.
A major reform IS in order however:
1)Repeal the 12th amendment and return to the second place finisher being the Vice President and President of the Senate – this will restore balance to policy.
(no party tickets)
All of these measures would remove or severly restrict the parties controlling the process and return greater voice to the people. What good is direct election when the two major parties, who are almost in lockstep agreement on their own selfish ends, decide for us who our choices will be?
These changes would also make other parties more viable as the whole issue of party itself would become less important.
Hopefully Linda Lingle isn’t elected into this or any other office again.
The electoral college limits competition, and spreads the ignorant spoiler concept as a way of forcing public opinion. Also it allows a president into office without a majority rule.
This was a partisan move, and the governor is abusing veto power. I hope the legislature overrides it.
Hmmm. How is the HI Guv chosen ??
By those masses of ALL HI voters — and NOT some sort of Electoral College in HI for Guv — from the bad old days of the HI kingdom ???
The division of a regime into sub-areas is TOTALLY arbitrary.
Nonstop gerrymander regimes in American History since the VA and MA colonies got going in the early 1600s.
This must be the New Age of math MORONS with Stone Age fixations for ANTI-Democracy stuff — i.e. who love EVIL monarchy – oligarchy math — such as in the 12th Amdt Prez Electoral College — that helped KILL about 620,000 Americans in 1861-1865 after the 1860 minority rule Prez election.