Experts, State Officials Agree: The National Popular Vote Compact Increases Fraud and Creates Crises
Alexandria, Va. (December 7, 2011) - A compact to elect the President by popular vote rather than the current Electoral College system will complicate the elections system, explode fraud and make most states irrelevant to the process, according to Secretaries of State and experts that participated in a groundbreaking panel, today, to explore the issue.
The panel, hosted jointly by the State Government Leadership Foundation (SGLF) and the Heritage Foundation discussed the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPV), which allows state legislatures to strike a deal by which they pledge to cast the entirety of their state’s Electoral College votes in accordance with the national popular vote, regardless of how the majorities in their states voted. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the keynote address, followed by a panel moderated by former Federal Election Commission member Hans A. von Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow at The Heritage Foundation with six Secretaries of State that included:
- Beth Chapman, State of Alabama
- Tre Hargett, State of Tennessee
- Delbert Hosemann, State of Mississippi
- Kris Kobach, State of Kansas
- Matt Schultz, State of Iowa
- Scott Gessler, State of Colorado
“The NPV is a very real threat to the elections process in the United States and, should it take effect, will lead to massive voter fraud and could leave the country with a constitutional crisis every four years,” said Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett.
California recently joined the NPV, giving the compact 49 percent of the 270 electoral votes it needs to take effect. The compact states it must pass in states controlling the remaining electoral votes by July of 2012 in order for the system to be in place for the November 2012 Presidential election.
The SGLF and Heritage Foundation held the event to further educate policymakers and the public about the dangers posed by the NPV to the elections process. As part of its mission to educate policymakers and the public about the benefits of smaller government, lower taxes, balanced budgets and efficiency in governing, the SGLF will continue to extensively research the issue and present its findings to the public in various forums across the country.
“Today’s event was an opportunity to demonstrate the inherent flaws of the NPV that diminish the role of nearly all states in the electoral process. Secretaries of State, who would be responsible for administering the unconstitutional NPV plan, are on the front lines of this issue and the SGLF was proud to amplify their collective voices, today,” said Chris Jankowski, Executive Director of the SGLF.