Finally getting around to reading the March/April Skeptical Inquirer. Two articles have relevance to my recent testimony against the Agreement for the National Popular Vote.
The first is a article by Lauren Becker revewing Carl Sagan's postumus book:
"he understood that the issue is a matter of emotion more than a matter of facts. Each side always thinks they have evidence for their claims, but emontions cloud judgement and make it difficult to separate wishes from reality."
The second is the "Declaration In Defense Of Science And Secularism" which reminds us of the importance to our future of accepting Science.
http://www.cfidc.org/declaration.html
NationalPopularVote.org touts surveys of the public in 1978 and 1980 that 70% of the public supports the popular election of the President. While the survey is likely accurate, how many believed Sadam was linked with 9/11? How many believed in rampant voter suppression and worried about electronic voting before 2000? The Declaration above references a Pew poll that 64% are open to teaching intelligent design or creationism in the public schools.
Birch Beyh, the chief proponent of the National Popular Vote states:
"one of the things we can do to limit fraud is to limit the benefits to be gained by fraud. Under a direct popular vote system, one fraudulent vote wins one vote in the return. In the electoral college system, one fraudulent vote could mean 45 electoral votes, 28 electoral votes."
Good Grief, Senator Beyh!!! It would should be obvious to anyone with a rudimentary understanding of arithmetic, that under a popular vote a single vote could take all of the 538 electoral votes!!!
Maybe that explains why a Psychology major was the only person to testify for the Agreement to the GAE in Connecticut. Christopher Pearson is also a legislator from Vermont and is employed by NationalPopularVote.org, earning his living supporting this agreement: http://www.christopherpearson.org/?page=3
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Explanation of National Popular Vote Bill – Rebutted
NationalPopulerVote.org is the organization leading the effort to pass the National Popular Vote Agreement between the States. In addition to a 646 page book, they provide 1-sentence, 3-sentence, and 400-word descriptions of the agreement. Here are equivalent rebuttals. See http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/pages/explanation.php
1-Sentence Description
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee that the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia will win the Presidency.
1-Sentence Rebuttal
The National Popular Vote bill would magnify the distortion caused by errors, voter suppression, disenfranchisement, fraud, and court challenges to the election leaving the Supreme Court as the only nine votes that would decide presidential elections.
3-Sentence Description
Under the U.S. Constitution, the states have exclusive and plenary (complete) power to allocate their electoral votes, and may change their state laws concerning the awarding of their electoral votes at any time. Under the National Popular Vote bill, all of the state’s electoral votes would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The bill would take effect only when enacted, in identical form, by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes—that is, enough electoral votes to elect a President (270 of 538).
3-Sentence Rebuttal
Under the U.S. Constitution, the states have exclusive and plenary (complete) power to allocate their electoral votes, certify election results, monitor the process, and install partisan election officials to block attempts by the public to vote and suppress attempts to determine the actual election winner. These officials can, at any time change (as several have frequently changed), their state laws concerning eligibility to vote, the audit process, the recount process, refuse access to ballots, and destroy ballots. Under the National Popular Vote bill, all of the state’s electoral votes would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as certified by a variety of partisan election officials in each state.
(400 Word Description with Annotated Rebuttal in 1st Commnet)
1-Sentence Description
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee that the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia will win the Presidency.
1-Sentence Rebuttal
The National Popular Vote bill would magnify the distortion caused by errors, voter suppression, disenfranchisement, fraud, and court challenges to the election leaving the Supreme Court as the only nine votes that would decide presidential elections.
3-Sentence Description
Under the U.S. Constitution, the states have exclusive and plenary (complete) power to allocate their electoral votes, and may change their state laws concerning the awarding of their electoral votes at any time. Under the National Popular Vote bill, all of the state’s electoral votes would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The bill would take effect only when enacted, in identical form, by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes—that is, enough electoral votes to elect a President (270 of 538).
3-Sentence Rebuttal
Under the U.S. Constitution, the states have exclusive and plenary (complete) power to allocate their electoral votes, certify election results, monitor the process, and install partisan election officials to block attempts by the public to vote and suppress attempts to determine the actual election winner. These officials can, at any time change (as several have frequently changed), their state laws concerning eligibility to vote, the audit process, the recount process, refuse access to ballots, and destroy ballots. Under the National Popular Vote bill, all of the state’s electoral votes would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as certified by a variety of partisan election officials in each state.
(400 Word Description with Annotated Rebuttal in 1st Commnet)
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