[EL] ELB News and Commentary 12/15/11

[Sean Parnell]

Dan: I'm quite happy to mount a defense, robust or otherwise.

 

The presidency was not intended to represent "the people" in the way
advocates of direct election presumably prefer. As part of the federal
system that was established under the Constitution, including
"non-democratic" features such as the U.S. Senate and, indeed, the Electoral
College, it was intended that the states would be the ones who determine who
the president is. The electoral college is the mechanism through which the
states select the president. If, for some reason, the Electoral College is
unable to resolve the issue (for example, because of a tie), then the states
resolve it through the U.S. House. Just as in the U.S. Senate, every state
is equal in the event of a U.S. House selection of the president.

 

I'm not sure why, in a representative democracy based on the premise of
states being co-equal members of a federal republic, where great concern was
voiced at the time of the founding over protecting the interests and rights
of small states , it's so astonishing to some that this might be the way a
president is selected in the event the primary mechanism is unable to do so.


 

Sean Parnell

President

Impact Policy Management, LLC

6411 Caleb Court

Alexandria, VA  22315

571-289-1374 (c)

sean at impactpolicymanagement.com

 

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
[mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Dan
Johnson
Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2011 12:38 PM
To: Rick Hasen
Cc: law-election at UCI.EDU
Subject: Re: [EL] ELB News and Commentary 12/15/11

 

I'd love to see opponents of the National Popular Vote mount a robust
defense of the House of Representatives in a one-vote-per-state-delegation
selecting the President (the result of a not-implausible tie in electoral
votes).

 

Because, after all, that is what they are defending. A tie will eventually
occur. Let us hope that the National Popular Vote compact is established and
confirmed by the Supreme Court before that mathematical certainty rears its
ugly head.

 

Dan

 

 

On Thu, Dec 15, 2011 at 11:24 AM, Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu> wrote:


 <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=26579> "An Electoral College Tie?" 


Posted on December 15, 2011 9:18 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=26579>
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>  

National Journal ponders
<http://decoded.nationaljournal.com/2011/12/an-electoral-college-tie.php> .

 

-- 
Dan Johnson

Partner

Korey Cotter Heater and Richardson, LLC

111 West Washington, Suite 1920
Chicago, Illinois 60602

http://www.kchrlaw.com


312.867.5377 (office)
312.933.4890 (mobile)
312.794.7064 (fax)

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