2009 PRESS RELEASES

March 25, 2009

Anti-Electoral College Bill risks Destabilization of American Politics

By Trent England

Olympia—This Thursday, March 26, at 8:00 a.m. the House Government and Tribal Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing on SB 5599, “Approving the entry of Washington into the agreement among the states to elect the president by national popular vote.” The bill was introduced two minutes before the cutoff, passing from the Senate to the House.

SB 5599, the National Popular Vote bill, is an attempt to avoid the constitutional amendment process and effectively replace the Electoral College with a national popular vote. The bill risks increased polarization and destabilization of American politics, emboldening powerful special interests, extensive litigation, national recounts, and geographic imbalance. By encouraging many candidates to run, the winner would likely have much less than a majority (in a field of five candidates, someone could win with 25%).

The compact will go into effect if enacted by states representing at least 270 electoral votes. It has been adopted in Maryland, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Illinois and introduced in nearly ever other state.

Trent England, director of the Citizenship & Governance Center at the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, is available to comment on the bill and on the merits of the Electoral College. He can be reached at (253) 549-5000. Diana Cieslak, policy analyst in the Citizenship & Governance Center, is also available for comment at (248) 207-3472.

For more information visit:
The Citizen Action Network Electoral College Resource Page: http://www.effwa.org/CAN/electoral.html
Ashbrook Center Electoral College Resource Page: http://www.ashbrook.org/articles/electoralcollege.html
Audio Clips: http://www.effwa.org/main/page.php?number=469
Blog Posts: http://www.libertylive.org/blog_main/post.php?post_id=1300

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Nothing in this publication should be construed as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any legislation or ballot measure.

Trent England is director of constitutional studies at the Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF), and the former director of EFF’s Citizen Action Network and Citizenship & Governance Center. He earlier served as a legal policy analyst and visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation, where he was a contributor to The Heritage Guide to the Constitution. He has also been a candidate for state representative, the vice president of a small issues lobbying organization, and an opposition researcher at a national campaign committee. Trent earned a law degree from The George Mason University School of Law and a bachelor of arts in government from Claremont McKenna College.

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