[EL] Does ECA reform create problems for National Popular Vote?

[sean at impactpolicymanagement.com]

I thought the list might be interested in a blog post I recently wrote
regarding the possibility that reforms to the Electoral Count Act could
create problems for the National Popular Vote interstate compact.

 

              Possible ECA Reforms Demonstrate Vulnerability of NPV
<https://saveourstates.com/blog/possible-eca-reforms-demonstrate-vulnerabili
ty-of-npv> 

 


The short version of the blog post is: the authors of the compact seem to
have drafted it with an aim of getting it to work under and with the ECA .
IMO they didn’t really pull it off (that’s another matter) but even if you
accept the premise that NPV and ECA are currently in perfect harmony, the
compact doesn’t really have a way of dealing with any changes to the ECA
that might disrupt that harmony. For example, the compact assumes certain
things about when states must certify their electors (the “safe harbor”
date) and when vote totals from non-member states will be available, and
Article III Section 5 of the compact is very clearly intended to sync with 3
U.S. Code § 5, but
 what if the safe harbor provisions of the ECA are
scrapped? That was one of the recommendations of the staff report released
by Rep. Zoe Lofgren. That seems like a problem for NPV, and I suspect there
are other potential changes to the ECA that could pose serious problems as
well.


To be fair, there may also be changes that would solve some problems for
NPV. But I think the larger point here is that it was a mistake to tie NPV
to federal laws that can be revised in ways that create serious problems for
the compact (though it’s not clear they really had a better option – “We’ll
just let each member state’s chief election official figure out the vote
totals for non-member states however they please” was probably not going to
get many takers).

 

As always, comments, critiques, and questions welcome.

 

 

Sean Parnell

Sr. Legislative Director

Save Our States

 <http://www.saveourstates.com> www.saveourstates.com

 <mailto:sean at saveourstates.com> sean at saveourstates.com

571-289-1374

 

 

 

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