[lbo-talk] Amendment 36 in Colorado: Ending the Winner-Take-All System

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Here is what should unite all -- including Nader and Kerry supporters 
-- but Republicans.  Vote Yes on Amendment 36 in Colorado 
<http://www.lawanddemocracy.org/amend36.html>!

<blockquote>Amendment 36 for electoral college reform replaces the 
current winner-take-all electoral system with one that allocates the 
state's electoral college votes proportionately to a candidate's 
popular vote. Colorado would join two other states -- Maine and 
Nebraska -- that have rejected in a deliberate way the 
winner-take-all system. Proposed by Make Your Vote Count and endorsed 
by Libertarians, Greens, Democrats and the NAACP, the initiative is a 
"one person, one vote" system.

The Nader/Camejo campaign believes the winner-take-all election 
system pushes voters to vote their fears and not their beliefs. The 
US needs to support electoral systems that allow more voters to vote 
for the candidates they support.  ("Nader/Camejo Campaign Endorses 
Ballot Initiatives in Colorado: Citizen Initiatives 35, 36 and 37 
Shift Taxes to Addictive Industries, Reform the Electoral College, 
and Support Renewable Energy," 
<http://www.votenader.org/media_press/index.php?cid=348>)</blockquote>

<blockquote>The last and most mind-boggling wrinkle comes from 
Colorado. On Nov. 2, the same day that Coloradans vote for president, 
they will vote on a state constitutional amendment that would change 
their current winner-take-all system to a new situation that would 
give candidates electoral votes according to their portion in the 
statewide vote for president. And the language of the amendment 
states that it would take effect immediately; if it passes, it would 
affect this presidential race.

Recent polls show Bush leading in Colorado by 5 to 9 percentage 
points. If the final vote turns out that way, and the constitutional 
amendment fails, Bush would get all nine of Colorado's electoral 
votes. If the amendment passes, Bush would get five electoral votes 
and Kerry would get four.

One Colorado voter has already filed a preemptive lawsuit challenging 
the immediate application of the new system if the measure, known as 
Amendment 36, passes. The state's Republican governor has pledged 
that if the amendment passes and costs Bush the presidency, he will 
challenge it in court.

In September, polls showed the "yes" vote on Amendment 36 running 
ahead of the "no." But of three polls during October, two showed the 
amendment running behind and one showed the question too close to 
call.

University of Colorado law Prof. Paul Campos, in a Rocky Mountain 
News column, recently opined: "Put it this way: if the identity of 
the next president ends up depending on the passage and enforcement 
of Amendment 36, then we'll see a series of lawsuits that will make 
Bush v. Gore look like a modest exercise of judicial discretion." 
(Erick Black, "Presidential Race Really Is a State-by-State Battle." 
October 25, 2004, 
<http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5049623.html>)</blockquote>
-- 
Yoshie

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