Good Day World!
Thanks to a recent court ruling in Colorado the fate of 44 states popular vote is in jeopardy of giving one person the power to overturn the majority selection.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver opened Pandora's box four days ago by allowing state electors to vote anyway they want instead of backing the popular vote which has been commonplace in most states for over a century.
In essence the federal court gave the okay to create chaos by allowing a partisan elector to upend the majority of votes to favor the other party.
It could also give that single elector the opportunity to decide a presidential election - if the popular vote results in an apparent Electoral College tie.
According to legal scholars the ruling was the first from a federal appeals court on the issue of faithless electors. It applies immediately to Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.
I suspect there will be an appeal, but for now it's a done deal.
Right now there are 30 states which have laws that bind electors, requiring them to cast their votes for whichever candidate who won that state's popular vote.
The problem is the laws are weak, providing only nominal penalties for faithless electors who fail to conform to the popular vote.
After the 10th U.S. Circuit's decision, corrupt political operatives are going to have a new way to thwart the will of the people.
In conflict with Colorado's decision, Washington state's Supreme Court ruled electors have to go with the popular vote last May.
But groups like "Equal Citizens" (who filed the case in Colorado) are encouraged by their initial success, and have already moved to challenge Washington state's recent ruling.
Depending on the push back from states, the whole issue might end up in the Supreme Court. If it does, there would still be time to make a ruling before the Electoral College meets in December 2020 to cast the formal vote for president.
Since when did Democracy mean the power of one - as opposed to the power of the majority? How can anyone seriously entertain the idea of giving one person that much power over our presidential elections?
We're getting closer every day to the most divisive election in American history. It could mean the end to our Constitution's guaranteed rights for citizens, and give rise to a totalitarian government under Trump if he wins.
Democracy as we've always known it, is at stake next year. Let's all hope the country survives the challenges ahead.
Time for me to walk on down the road...
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