Electoral bill could have national impact
Monday, June 29th, 2009
By: Elizabeth Fiedler
efiedler@whyy.org
The Delaware state House has passed a bill that could change the procedure for electing the country's Commander-In-Chief…someday. The state bill that could have national consequences.
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
States that pass the National Popular Vote bill agree to have their electoral college votes go to the Presidential candidate who has won the popular vote nationally, regardless of which candidate won the popular vote in the specific state.
For the legislation to go into effect it must be passed by states that have a majority of Electoral College votes. So far it's been approved by Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, and Washington.
State Representative Dennis Williams says a new method could help small states like Delaware
Williams: There are no candidate visits to most of the smaller states, there's no polling done. The Electoral College system is no longer an advantage to the small states as it was perceived at the founding. Actually the states that get the most attention now are the swing states, the battleground states. Williams hopes the Senate will pass the bill by the end of session on Tuesday.