Americans Are Purple

At a discussion of the National Popular Vote (NPV) plan, hosted by the Heritage Foundation and the State Government Leadership Foundation, Republican Secretaries of State had a lenghty discussion about he impact of the NPV plan on states and the Electoral College system of formally electing Presidents.  Considering the subject matter, the discussion was actually very interesting and the secretaries in attendance - who are their state's chief elections officers - brought up some meaty points.  

Secretary Delbert Hosemann (MS) discussed the voter disenfranchisement that, in his view, could occur under the NPV plan.

 

Tennessee's Tre Hargett hit on the loss of rights states will face under NPV, and Colorado's Scott Gessler forecasted a further federaliztion of Presidential contests as well.  In other words, right now all elections are monitored and managed by the states.  Under NPV, the view is that the federal government would monitor and manage the oversight of Presidential elections. 

 

Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz highlighted that smaller - less population rich states (some call them fly-over states) would lose influence under the NPV plan.  Under NPV the side that racks up more physical votes gets to control the process - which is a boon to states with high populations, and a bane to those with low populations.  Put another way - why spend time and seek votes in Alabama if you can get more votes from New York for the same amount of time?  

One would imagine that any state leader, regardless of party, would want to make sure their citizens voices are heard and not squelched.  To paraphrase Alabama Secretary of State Beth Chapman, red or blue doesn't matter, when it comes to voting America should be purple.  

Watch the discussion in its entirety here.  

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