MARLBORO — Members of the Vermont House and Senate are now pushing a questionable tactic to get around the electoral college in presidential votes.
The objective is to change the intent of the federal constitution by using the national popular vote as the electing method.
The 2000 Gore/Bush outcome is the latest motivator, even though that outcome might have been due more to the Supreme Court denying a Florida recount than to the real actions of Florida voters themselves.
That same year, 2000, Republican primary voters in Vermont gave McCain a 2:1 edge over Bush. The state Republican convention, however, gave McCain nary a delegate to the national convention held later in the year, thereby denying a grassroots result.
One might ask: Why have a primary at all, if the delegation will ignore the outcome?This is the same tactic proposed by the current proponents in Montpelier.
Because an actual constitutional amendment is unlikely, these proponents want Vermont to obligate our electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote across the country, regardless of the popular vote in Vermont. This would be done by a compact among states who have passed similar legislation (This compact currently includes Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, and New Jersey).
Past electors have been chosen by the legislature. Now they are instructed by the people themselves, a grassroots reflection which is certainly a democratic improvement.
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What has not changed, however, is the fact that we are a nation of states, and that Vermont state laws, Vermont example, and Vermont representatives and senators have contributed mightily to the welfare of the country as a whole.
We articulate a Vermont vision and a Vermont competence. After all, it was a Vermont congressman who cast the deciding vote for John Adams in the 1800 election, which was settled by the House of Representatives.
It's not just the U. S. President who is the national be-all and end-all these days, but the magnificent system created for us. As in that headstrong GOP convention of the year 2000, Vermont electors voting against the popular will of Vermonters would be an abomination.
The proposed legislation prompts questions of constitutionality and common sense. It should not pass.