Josh Goodman is a former staff writer for GOVERNING..
E-mail: mailbox@governing.com"Bullish" on the Popular Vote
Rob Richie, the executive director of FairVote, offered an interesting comment on my post on the Electoral College from yesterday:
The main problem with the Electoral College happens in every election, not just ones where the popular vote winner is defeated. The problem is that the major party nominees completely, absolutely ignore two-thirds of the nation in the general election.
The reason why I'm so bullish on National Popular Vote becoming policy by 2012 is that the 2008 election is almost certain to showcase this problem again -- and it will be noticed, with the endless talk of "safe blue", "safe red" states and handful of battleground. Then 2009 comes around, and all states will debate a legislative vehicle to fix the problem -- one that comes with 70% support in the polls.
Remember that the more this issue is put before people, the more they want to change the current system. Opponents' arguments at the end of the day are very weak, based on faulty understanding of our electoral history and how elections governed by a national popular vote would work. The more sunshine on the debate, the better for reformers.
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