R.I. lawmakers approve plan on national popular votePROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Lawmakers have approved legislation to add Rhode Island to a coalition of states seeking to elect the president and vice president through popular vote instead of the existing Electoral College system.
The bill was endorsed Thursday and will be transmitted to Gov. Don Carcieri for his signature. The law would only kick in if states representing a majority of the nation's 538 electoral votes decided to make the same change.
Four states - Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey and Maryland - have endorsed the plan.
The measure is being pushed in several states by the California-based National Popular Vote organization.
Supporters argue that the change would help avoid a repeat of the 2000 presidential election, when Democrat Al Gore got the most popular votes but Republican George W. Bush won a majority in the Electoral College and was elected president.
The bill was endorsed Thursday and will be transmitted to Gov. Don Carcieri for his signature. The law would only kick in if states representing a majority of the nation's 538 electoral votes decided to make the same change.
Four states - Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey and Maryland - have endorsed the plan.
The measure is being pushed in several states by the California-based National Popular Vote organization.
Supporters argue that the change would help avoid a repeat of the 2000 presidential election, when Democrat Al Gore got the most popular votes but Republican George W. Bush won a majority in the Electoral College and was elected president.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.