St. Paul, Minn. – Today, state Rep. John Lesch (DFL – St. Paul) and other lawmakers announced plans to once again introduce bipartisan legislation to enter Minnesota in the “National Popular Vote” compact during a news conference at the State Capitol. The news conference preceded the 2016 Electoral College Assembly where electors will officially cast their votes for President.
“The shortcomings of the current system which we use to elect our president continue to be evident, and highlight the fact that the voice of the people is not being heard,” Rep. Lesch said. “Under the current system, just a few states matter to the conversation in any meaningful way, and the manner in which the Electoral College operates now has gone far afield from the founders’ original intent.”
Support for the legislation cuts across partisan lines. Previously, Republican co-authors have included Rep. Pat Garofalo (R – Farmington), Rep. Tim Sanders (R – Blaine), Rep. Rod Hamilton (R – Mountain Lake), Sen. Karin Housley (R – St. Mary’s Point) and former Speaker of the House Kurt Zellers.
“We have been working on a bipartisan manner on this issue for a number of years, and this is a way we can ensure every voter in every state is relevant when we elect our president every four years,” Rep. Lesch said. “With the significant, fundamental flaws in the current electoral system, each state has the ability to make this important reform and I look forward to continuing the effort to educate folks both why we should do this and how we will get there.”
If enacted, the compact would mean the candidate who gets the most votes for President of the United States would be elected. Rep. Lesch was the chief author of National Popular Vote legislation in each of the previous two biennia. Under National Popular Vote, the Electoral College would not be eliminated, but rather terms of an agreement would be established whereby participating states would award their electoral votes to the candidate receiving the highest national share of the popular vote. Currently, 10 states and the District of Columbia have joined the compact, representing 165 electoral votes. Once enough states totaling 270 or more electoral votes (the constitutional minimum needed for the Electoral College to elect a president), the terms of the compact would take effect. A constitutional amendment would not be necessary.
Data highlights that during the campaign for president, the candidates place attention almost exclusively on a few targeted “battleground states” and ignore the rest of the nation. 94 percent of the 399 post-convention events staged by the Democratic and Republican tickets occurred in just twelve states. Two-thirds of them took place in just six states: Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and Michigan.
Greater amounts of attention placed upon swing states goes well beyond campaign season, too. Research has shown these states on average get seven percent more federal grants, twice as many disaster declarations, and numerous favorable executive actions.
“It’s important that as we elect our president every four years, every state matters and every vote matters. Based on where the campaigns target the lion’s share of their time and financial resources, this clearly is not a current reality,” Rep. Lesch said. “Many Democrats, Republicans and independents would prefer we move in this direction, and even President-elect Trump has indicated he shares this viewpoint. To be sure, this wouldn’t be a minor change to how we conduct political campaigns, but there are a great deal of misconceptions about this proposal. I’m looking forward to a renewed conversation about this issue and giving everyone an opportunity to gain a greater understanding of this initiative.”
Rep. Lesch represents the Como Park, North End, East Side and Hamline-Midway neighborhoods in St. Paul at the Capitol. He is currently the lead DFL member of the Civil Law and Data Practices Committee and serves as the chair of the St. Paul Legislative Delegation.