LA Times: (Repug) Electoral vote measure fails to make June ballot

[marmar]

:applause:


Electoral vote measure fails to make June ballot
The Republican-backed initiative in California, which could have favored the GOP presidential nominee, did not garner enough financial support.
By Dan Morain, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 7, 2007


A proposed initiative that drew national attention for its potential to affect next year's presidential election will not appear on the June ballot, organizers said Thursday.

Republican backers of the measure, which could have tilted the presidential contest toward the GOP nominee by changing how California awards electoral votes, conceded that they were unable to raise sufficient funds.

Sacramento consultant Dave Gilliard, the campaign manager, said that even if a financial angel were to shower the campaign with $1 million, there was not enough time to qualify the measure for June.

"I was surprised that more people that finance these types of efforts didn't step forward," Gilliard said. "We had strong supporters and good supporters but didn't come anywhere close to making the budget."

Deadlines passed last week for submitting petitions to elections officials, who would have determined whether supporters had gathered the necessary 434,000 signatures of registered voters. Typically, gathering enough signatures costs about $2 million; organizers must overshoot their mark to allow for invalid names.

Gilliard said proponents were holding out hope that the measure could appear on the November ballot with the presidential contest. But he said that was a dicey scenario: Even if it is on that ballot and wins voter approval, it might not affect the 2008 election ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-electoral7dec07,0,5337231.story?coll=la-home-center

[Benhurst]

1. Great news!

Recommended :party: #1

[gratuitous]

2. Look for another appearance by Darrel "Crybaby" Issa

And, Mr. Gilliard, the reason you didn't get better financial backing is because the Republicans don't have money to burn this election season, as they have had in past campaigns. They're actually having to budget, pick and choose the causes and candidates they'll finance, and as you might guess, they don't have a lot of experience doing that.

Look for a full-blown meltdown in the second half of 2008, as candidates who think they should get more money to run campaigns are shorted, while candidates and incumbents who should be coasting in easy races are propped up for one more round.

[marmar]

6. "Look for another appearance by Darrel "Crybaby" Issa"

You know it.

[bigscott]

3. Woooooo Hooooooo

:bounce:

[KharmaTrain]

4. I Hope The Petition Fraud Is Still Investigated

I'll admit that I do favor a direct vote over the electoral college...and I did favor the concept they were trying to push in California...but on a national level. Since for whatever votes would be lost in California would be picked up in Florida, Texas and in other "Red States". But that would be on a national level and would require a constitutional ammendment. I doubt that will happen any time soon.

Kudo to Calitetics for their fine coverage on this fiasco and I hope they keep up the pressure in exposing what went behind this latest GOOP scam...who was involved and to press for investigations and prosecutions of those who attempted to push fraudulent petitions. It's just not good enough for Repugnicans to have their sham initiatives debunked, but that a few of these goons need to visit the grey bar hotel and send a message that voter intimidation and mainpulation will no longer be tolerated.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

5. oh good!

I was afraid they were going to manage it somehow...

:bounce:

[Bitwit1234]

7. Are there lawyers present.........

I know that a state can change the way they do things, but if something is in the Constitution of the United States, doesn't there have to be a constitutional amendment to change it.

And if California wants to change something like the electoral ballots and it is federal, don't ALL AMERICANS have a right to challenge this. Maybe some lawyer can challenge the initiative right straight off and make them prove it is not unconstitutional.

[redqueen]

9. That's a good question.

I would think that states are allowed to decide the way they award their electoral votes. Just a guess though...

[BadgerLaw2010]

10. The language in question specifies the "legislature."

States can change how they award electoral votes, but it would seem that a measure bypassing the legislature would not be allowed. That's the most obvious challenge I can think of if this did somehow pass.

It's an odd question, considering that the Founders would have considered a direct democracy initiative to control the Electoral College to be anathema. That somewhat defeats the point of the body as they conceived it.

[redqueen]

8. Gathering signatures costs $2 million? Really?

Is that because they can't find anyone who believes in what they're doing enough to volunteer?

[marmar]

11. "Is that because they can't find anyone who believes...."

I suspect that might be the case. I also wouldn't be surprised if some skid-row alkies in MacArthur Park or the Tenderloin suddenly got cases of JB in exchange for a signature or two.

[sinkingfeeling]

12. Great to hear! This stuff must be stopped wherever it pops up its ugly head!

[marmar]

13. Agreed....And responded to quickly.

The Dems have to quickly go on offense when the slithering Repugs conceive these things.

[SoCalDem]

14. Don;t get too happy yet.. These "zombie" proposals always come back

again and again and again..

Next time around they'll just get a new 'front group" to sponsor it.. Something like "Mothers United for Safe Schools" or "Citizens for Clean Water"..

They are very clever at disguising the real meaning, and unfortunately there ARE people who will sign anything handed to them on a clipboard, as they leave Walmart..

That's how we ended up with Ahhhhnold and how we ended up WITHOUT the billions that Enron owed us..

[marmar]

15. True....Ward Connerly's anti-affirmative action group kept coming back to Michigan...

.... under many different aliases.

[Elspeth]

16. You are so right, SoCalDem

We gotta keep vigilant