In yet another attempt to circumvent established election laws, the California Republican Party has begun raising money to place an initiative on the February presidential primary ballot that would change that state's winner-take-all system in the Electoral College.
As with 48 other states (Maine and Nebraska being the exception), California awards its 55 electoral votes (the most in the nation) to the winner of the state's overall popular vote in presidential contests. In the last four elections those votes have gone to the Democratic nominee. In nine of the ten contests before that (back to 1952), the state was in the Republican column.
The proposed Republican power-grab would allocate the 55 electoral votes this way: two would automatically go to the winner of the overall state vote; the remaining 53 would be awarded based on results in each of the state's 53 congressional districts. With those districts being so gerrymandered the GOP nominee would pick up about 20 electoral votes that they would have not picked up in elections past.
In the past I have called for the abolition of the Electoral College. It is antiquated and, as the 2000 contest showed, can thwart the will of the people, allowing unqualified incompetents to slip into the White House.
But if the Republican Party was really concerned about reworking our national election process they would put this initiative on the ballot in other states. Perhaps the ones that have gone Republican in the last ten presidential elections. Or ones that have, over the last couple of decades, become solidly Republican (a big state like Texas, perhaps).
Oh, but wait. That wouldn't serve their unspoken party strategy of stealing elections, would it? I mean, do you think for a minute the Republicans wouldn't put another initiative on the ballot reversing themselves should California start voting Republican again?
