January 2023 – Update
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November – 2022 Updates
Post Midterm Election Update
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September 2022 – In the News
Welcome to the September 2022 edition of In the News. We hope you continue to find interesting our sampling of news about the popular vote from various media outlets around the country. Email us with comments or questions at NPVLWVFL@gmail.com or visit us at FloridiansforNPV.com. And feel free to forward this to a friend or colleague.
July 2022 – Update
League of Women Voters Makes National Popular Vote a “Moonshot” Priority
The League of Women Voters held its National Convention in Denver and virtually from June 23-25.
The National Popular Vote movement started in 2006 as a catalyst to ensure the candidate with the most votes nationally is elected President. By continuing to use the Electoral College, states decide to have their Electors cast their state votes for the candidate who wins in all 50 states, not the winner in their state.
The League of Women Voters has supported direct election of the president since 1970, and the National Popular Vote as an option since 2010.
In all 15 states and DC, the state Leagues have been instrumental in getting the bill passed. State Leagues in other jurisdictions have varying levels of commitment depending on local membership preferences and scope.
In Florida we have a devoted team of LWV from around the state who support NPV by speaking to civic groups and legislators to ensure reliable information is disseminated.
Our Florida leadership, including Kathleen Crampton, Anne Coppenhaver, Jan Lonsdale, Debra Chandler, organized a caucus and resolution for the entire convention to enshrine NPV into the LWV two-year plan “Making Democracy Work”.
“Electing the President by Popular Vote” was passed overwhelmingly by the delegates. We celebrate all the hard work and dedication of our League members from around the country who contributed to this year’s success.
Girls Scouts of Southeast Florida Honor Floridians for NPV Founder
Congratulations to Kathleen R. Crampton the 2022 Emerald Awards honoree in the Go-getter category!! She is passionate about ensuring every vote counts and that everyone has the right to vote, putting that passion into action by founding Floridians for the National Popular Vote. She understands how to motivate people and work with a team to get things done.
We are so proud of Kathleen and her state-wide team of devoted volunteers who tirelessly provide their time and energy to educate the public and Legislators about the National Popular Vote law.
May 2022 – Updates
Five of nine currently sitting Supreme Court justices were appointed by Presidents who lost the popular vote. How is that possible? The winner-take-all used in 48 states causes 38 states to be reliably Red or Blue while the remaining 12 battleground states determine the winner of the Electoral College vote.
February 2022 – Updates
Perhaps you’ve heard of the Electoral Count Act. It’s been in the news lately. It passed in 1887, after the highly disputed election of 1876 and close elections in 1880 and 1884. It’s a complicated and ambiguous piece of legislation. It aims to enforce states’ rights to decide their presidential election laws and take the US Congress out of it, for the most part.
Nov. & Dec. – Updates
Senate Bill Filed
Senator Victor Torres filed the National Popular Vote bill. It is assigned SB584 for the 2022 Florida Legislative session that starts January 11 and runs through March 11. It’s been assigned to 3 Senate committees: Ethics and Elections, Judiciary, Rules.
Representative Joseph Geller filed the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact for the 2022 Legislative Session. House Bill #69 is assigned to both the Public Integrity and Elections Committee and the Judiciary Committee.
Click on any of these links and you can view the members of that specific committee. We appreciate your help in contacting your legislator and requesting a hearing of the bill. If you need a subject matter expert, reach out to us at npvic1@gmail.com and we will assist you in any way we can.
Successful Michael Steele Events
Michael Steele sold out three venues: The Forum Club of Palm Beach, The League of Women Voters Palm Beach County’s Warriors and Heroes VIP Reception and the Florida Atlantic University Department of Political Science OLLI auditorium.
He repeated his motto, “I am an American, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order” throughout his presentations. Mr. Steele’s comments were welcomed by all. He truly exemplifies the leadership we want and need.
For Michael Steele’s interview with The Palm Beach Post, click here.
Pictured below: Representative Joseph Geller, LWV FL President Cecile Scoon, LWV PBC Kathi Gundlach, Floridians for NPV Chair Kathleen Crampton
Floridians for NPV Team Below: Kathleen Crampton, Tracey Wiseman, Deb Mazzaferro, Cynthia Archbold, Angie Wegner, with the Honorable Michael Steele at the Forum Club of Palm Beach
Endorsement
The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) recently added the following paragraph to its official platform statement, under the heading of Defending Democracy.
- Electoral College Reform: The current Electoral College system can result in the unjust election of a president opposed by a majority of the American people. Since elimination of the Electoral College would require a Constitutional amendment, we support the adoption of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact by as many states as necessary, which provides that upon adoption by states whose electoral votes total at least 270, the states in the Compact would agree to cast their electoral votes for the presidential candidate receiving the most popular votes nationally, irrespective of the results in their particular state.
The founder and Chair of JDCA is Ron Klein, a former member Florida House of Representatives (1992-1996), a former member and Democratic leader of the Florida Senate (1996-2006), and a former member of the House of Representatives (2006-2010) from Florida’s 22nd congressional district (Broward and Palm Beach Counties). He is currently a partner at the law firm of Holland & Knight.
October 2021 Updates
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Representative Geller Introduces HB # 69 – NPV
Representative Joseph Geller Introduces HB # 69 which is an “Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote”. To read more click here.
July 2021 Update
How the 2020 Census Results Effect NPV
In April, the census reapportionment data was released with Florida gaining one electoral college vote along with Montana, Colorado, Oregon, and North Carolina. Several states lost an elector, while Texas added 2.
Overall, the National Popular Vote bill, which has passed in 16 jurisdictions, lost 1 vote toward our goal of 270 for the bill to take effect. NPV now has 195 committed Electoral Votes toward implementation. Read more here.
Why are states racing to pass new voting laws?
The Electoral College! Individual states are concerned with their specific outcomes, known as winner-take-all, in presidential elections.
Winner-take-all laws in 48 of 50 states determine that the plurality winner in that state takes ALL the Electors in the state even if it’s only a one vote difference. They don’t concern themselves with the national popular vote (the winner in all 50 states combined).
Only 10-12 states are considered “battleground” states… and worth fighting over. Using this map, if you hover over any of the battleground states, you’ll see why votes in those locations are more important than others: Georgia and Arizona were won by .5% or less, Pennsylvania by 1.2%, Wisconsin by .7%, North Carolina by 1.4%. Ninety percent of all campaigning happens in those few states, but if all votes counted equally, then a larger difference per state wouldn’t matter if it were Red or Blue. Large numbers of voters from both parties are disenfranchised by winner-take-all laws. Examples are Ohio, Virginia, Maine and Texas.
Now you know why both sides are so invested in voting laws that count or don’t count even a small portion of their population. Read more here.
Michael Steele Supports the National Popular Vote
Floridians for National Popular Vote is pleased to announce that Michael Steele will speak at the Lifelong Learning Auditorium at FAU Boca Raton on why the National Popular Vote is such an elegant solution to fairly elect the president while preserving the Electoral College. As he says. “I’m an American, a conservative and a Republican, in that order……”
Be sure to save November 9, 2021 at 2 PM. The event will be in-person as well as recorded for later viewing. Stay tuned for details on how to register.
The event is co-sponsored by Floridians for NPV, League of Women Voters Palm Beach Country, Florida Atlantic University, and FAU Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
In the News
Our Editor is on hiatus for the rest of the summer, so we’ll be resuming our monthly summary of national articles related to the National Popular Vote when she returns. If you see an article or editorial you think we should share, please forward it or a link to it to NPVFL1@gmail.com. For past issues, visit our archive.
Debunking Most Common Myths about a National Popular Vote
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