[EM] Electoral College

[Steve Eppley]

Abd ul-Rahman Lomax wrote:
> At 10:24 AM 5/4/2006, Steve Eppley wrote:
>> Could Article I. Section 10 of the US Constitution interfere with that 
>> scheme?
>>
>>     "No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any duty
>>     of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace,
>>     enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State,
>>     or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually
>>     invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay."
>>
>> I'm referring to the ban against entering into any agreement or 
>> compact with another state without the consent of Congress.
> 
> This clause seems to be dealing with the war-making powers. I'd want to 
> know more about it and how it has been interpreted.

And then, of course, there's the question of whether 5 Supreme Court justices would 
interpret it when ruling on this scheme.

> However, the so-called Compact is in some ways not a compact. Rather, it 
> sets up a method of selecting state electors and instructing them that 
> is conditional on other states doing the same. That is, if enough other 
> states pass the same law, the law becomes effective. This is not an 
> ordinary contract or compact. 
-snip-

I posted a similar scheme here several years ago, one which would have an effect much 
sooner, not waiting until states containing a majority of the Electoral College agreed. 
Suppose a state passed a law that would require it to include in its count of voters' 
votes for President the votes of all voters in all states that passed the same law?  It 
could grow like a crystal, similarly to the way that the bloc of primary elections on 
Super Tuesday grew: The states that join in might receive increased attention from the 
Presidential candidates due to their combined weight.  The more states that joined, the 
greater would be the incentive for the remaining states to join.

Imagine that California adopted this law, by passing a citizens' initiative.  California 
at the moment is "safe" for mainstream Democrat candidates.  Small "unsafe" states having 
Democratic-controlled legislatures would then have an incentive to join with California.

The incentives and strategies are likely more complex than I'm making them appear to be, 
though.