GOP “fairness” measure fails in California

Efforts to split California’s votes that would help the GOP swipe the 2008 election failed due to lack of funding according to the LA Times.

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.

Even if they had the money, is it right to continue pushing this measure?  It’s disgusting the lengths to which people would go to cheat.  How unfair would it be for California, a blue state, to get split up on popularity while red states like Texas maintain a winner take all mechanism?

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.

The problem with measures of this magnitude come in many forms.  The name of the measure itself is deceptive and doesn’t get to the heart of the issue.  So millions of voters would go to the voting booth and might end up helping a measure that they wouldn’t have otherwise approved of.  And that is just referring to the relatively educated types.  It’s dirty, sneaky, and seems consistent with what we’ve seen produced by the GOP since President Bush took office.

The initiative might not kick in until 2012, Gilliard said — adding that courts likely would decide the matter.

You’re damn right courts would have to decide the matter.  This issue will have to be litigated for it to ever be valid, it’s a serious issue and could screw voters more than voter fraud that skewed the 2004 elections.

The proposal would replace California’s winner-takes-all system of appropriating its 55 electoral votes, awarding the votes instead by which candidate wins individual congressional districts.

Again, it’s just not right.  It’s deceptive and unless you’re willing to do this in every state, it’s obvious that fairness is not part of the agenda.  This is simply about denying Democratic voters the full strength of their vote.

Fred Soto is an Attorney and Entrepreneur from the Silicon Valley.
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