“We are masters of unsaid words, but slaves to those we let slip out.” — Winston Churchill
On Oct. 10, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was with California Gov. Gavin Newsom when he said: “I think all of us know the Electoral College needs to go. We need, we need a national popular vote, but that is not the world we live in. So, we need to win in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. We need to be able to go into York, Pennsylvania, and win. We need to be in Western Michigan and win. We need to be in Reno, Nevada, and win.”
Walz said aloud what many in his party have long believed. The Harris campaign was quick to say it did not support abolishing the Electoral College — a controversy they do not want to navigate until in office. But Walz rang this bell, and everyone heard it.
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Let us discuss the implications of his mindset.
“The Electoral College needs to go.” A constitutional amendment requires 38 states to agree. It is unlikely even half would vote to abolish the Electoral College, which ensures that candidates visit many states. Fifty percent of Americans live in just 9 states. New York City has more people than 39 of our states, Los Angeles County more than 41. An NPV scheme would reward candidates focused on metropolitan areas. With NPV, locations that provide food and natural resources to these urban areas would truly become “fly over states.”
National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Because opponents of the Electoral College will never win the consent of 38 states, leaders of Walz’ party launched this Compact in 2006. It seeks to gain agreement among states to award their Electoral votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote. It takes 270 Electoral votes to win the presidency. NPV legislation provides that once the states in the Compact have a total of 270 Electors, it goes into effect the evening of the next presidential election — creating a Constitutional crisis.
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Walz Signed the NPV Compact. In the past two years Minnesota and Maine joined the NPV, giving it seventeen states and 209 Electors. These states have one thing in common: one-party control of the House, Senate and governorship. More than 98% of the state legislators voting to join the Compact are of Walz’ party. States in the Compact pledge to direct their Electors to vote for the winner of the national popular vote even if the majority vote of their state must be ignored.
Beaver County, York, Reno and Western Michigan. While in California, which has more than 39 million people, Walz spoke derisively about having to visit Beaver County Pa. (population 168,215), York County, Pa. (456,438), Reno, Nev. (264,165), and Western Michigan because the Electoral College design incentivizes candidates not to ignore these communities. Walz expressed an elitist desire to have urban areas rule. One might ask him, are our major cities so safe and well-managed they should become the sole arbiters of the affairs of our Republic?
How Heads of Government Are Elected in Other Republics. Walz is oblivious to the fact that how we elect our president is more “democratic” than most other republics. Of the 27 countries in the European Union, only France and Cypress use a national popular vote to elect their heads of government. The other 25 elect their heads of government in their parliaments. The same goes for Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Churchill was never on the ballot of all Englishmen, only his constituency. Parliament elected him prime minister.
“Whoever gets the most runs wins.” The Minnesota Twins have won the World Series on two occasions: 1987 and 1991. In 1991 the Twins won 4 of 7 games to clinch the series, even though the Twins had a total of 24 runs in those 7 games, the Atlanta Braves a total of 29.
Is that fair? Most sports focus on the most games won, not the most points. Our states provide 50 electoral competitions — 50 games if you will. We then aggregate those contests to choose our leader. Ingenious!
“Whoever gets the most votes wins.” Walz’s comment is filled with irony. President Joseph Biden is the only person who in 2024 has received Democratic popular votes for president. “Whoever wins no votes wins?”
The Electoral College incentivizes candidates to visit most states, including their rural communities. The winning candidates are those who visit and listen to a wide swath of this vast nation and her people. E Pluribus Unum. Out of many, one. And, so, it is with our own Electoral College.
Michael C. Maibach is a Distinguished Fellow on American Federalism at Save Our States. He is also a Trustee and the Managing Director of the James Wilson Institute. www.SaveOurStates.com www.JWInst.org
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Tampa Free Press or DCNF.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.