Vote plan gains popularityBy Julia C. Martinez, editorial board member
Published March 20th 2006 in The Denver Post
excerpt from Affairs of State column
Electing the president by popular vote is an idea whose time might be just around the corner.
Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon is getting behind an innovative national effort to revamp the current system, but without getting rid of the Electoral College. A bill Gordon plans to introduce this week proposes to have Colorado join a compact of states that would pledge to award their electoral votes to the nationwide winner of the popular vote. The Illinois legislature is considering a similar proposal, which is being pushed by the bipartisan coalition National Popular Vote.
Polls have shown consistently over the last half-century that the majority of Americans favor direct elections. While the winner of the electoral vote historically has been the winner of the popular vote, it's not always the case, as we saw in 2000. It's an idea worthy of the legislature's consideration.
Electing the president by popular vote is an idea whose time might be just around the corner.
Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon is getting behind an innovative national effort to revamp the current system, but without getting rid of the Electoral College. A bill Gordon plans to introduce this week proposes to have Colorado join a compact of states that would pledge to award their electoral votes to the nationwide winner of the popular vote. The Illinois legislature is considering a similar proposal, which is being pushed by the bipartisan coalition National Popular Vote.
Polls have shown consistently over the last half-century that the majority of Americans favor direct elections. While the winner of the electoral vote historically has been the winner of the popular vote, it's not always the case, as we saw in 2000. It's an idea worthy of the legislature's consideration.
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.