Electoral College's Doomed Legacy: Compact Advocates Clash Over Legal Loopholes and Political Futility
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact aims to let the national popular vote winner decide the presidency, directly challenging the existing Electoral College structure.
Commenters accuse the Electoral College of being a relic that systematically undervotes populace states, as noted by UnderpantsWeevil. The legal standing is split: kryptonianCodeMonkey asserts the compact's foundation is solid due to state latitude, while Rivalarrival warns the entire system is fragile because any single state can unilaterally suppress its official vote count, rendering the whole effort inert.
The core fight is on enforceability. Immutable suggests the two-party structure will negate the compact's impact, regardless of its legality. The prevailing view is that while the *idea* of the compact resonates with anti-Electoral College sentiment, its actual implementation faces immediate, potentially fatal, procedural hurdles concerning state compliance.
Key Points
The Electoral College fundamentally fails to represent democracy by weighting states unfairly.
UnderpantsWeevil scored the EC as a relic failing to represent general democracy.
The compact's legal foundation is constitutionally sound due to state power.
kryptonianCodeMonkey cited Article II, Clause 2 as giving states too much latitude for the pact to stand.
The compact is practically indefensible because states can withhold vote tallies.
Rivalarrival stated any state can refuse to publish its count, nullifying the pact's core mechanism.
The current two-party incentive structure prevents any structural change, even if the compact passes.
immutable argued that the existing duopoly will negate the compact's intended political shift.
The momentum behind the compact is weak due to low signing numbers from key states.
armok_the_bunny noted that few red or swing states have actually joined, suggesting insufficient political will.
Source Discussions (3)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.