Electors Targeted... Petition drives attempt to influence Electoral College into changing vote
Thursday, November 23, 2000
ELECTION 2000, Day 17
Electors targeted
Petition drives attempt to influence Electoral College into changing vote
by Julie Foster
worldnetdaily.com
With Florida's choice for president still unknown, and unprecedented legal battles raging in the courts, several groups have shifted their focus from the Sunshine State and adopted a new tactic to get their man into the Oval Office: Lobby members of the Electoral College.
Established by America's founding fathers in Article 2 of the Constitution, the Electoral College meets on Dec. 18 this year to cast the determining votes for president of the United States. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win.
The winner of the 2000 presidential election has hinged on the taker of Florida's 25 votes -- until now. But organizations such as Citizens for True Democracy and E-The People have begun petition drives to influence the decisions of the 538 individual electors, potentially making Florida's outcome irrelevant.
The Center for True Democracy posted the names, addresses and phone numbers -- when available -- of Republican electors from 19 states, which have been targeted by CTD's grassroots letter-writing campaign. David Enrich, the group's director, said he has heard about complaints from electors who are upset that their names and addresses are posted on the website. But Enrich points out the information is public and noted that "not a single secretary of state" his organization called had any problem giving out the names and addresses of electors. Contact information was also found on the Internet, he said.
A sample letter to electors written by CTD reads:
"As one of 538 presidential electors, you will help to determine the future of American democracy. If the Electoral College contradicts the nation's popular vote, American democracy will face a serious legitimacy crisis. You have the power to help our nation avert this crisis.
"I understand that you are committed to support George W. Bush, but before doing so, you should weigh America's national interest. Your state, unlike many others, does not legally require you to vote for your party's candidate. To the best of my knowledge, you will face no penalties whatsoever if you decide to vote consistent with the majority of Americans.
"Patriotism should come before partisanship. I trust that you will make the responsible choice."
Citizens for True Democracy, organized and operated by college students, began its campaign on Nov. 10, and urges electors to vote for the presumed winner of the popular vote -- Vice President Al Gore. However, Enrich claimed that his organization is not pro-Gore.
"This is not a partisan thing. We're not encouraging electors to vote for Gore," he said. "We're encouraging them to not vote for Bush."
Enrich, who says he did not vote for Bush or Gore, added that if tables were turned and Bush was the winner of the popular vote, CTD would remove information on Republican electors from its website and post Democrat elector information instead.
The issue "transcends partisanship," he remarked. It's a "pure issue of fairness. We think that whoever wins the popular vote should be president." He also noted his belief that "the Electoral College was originally intended to be a deliberative body."
Enrich explained electors could vote for third-party candidates. Should that happen, however, it is likely that no candidate will receive the 270 votes necessary to win the election. In that case, according to Article 2, Section 1, Clause 3 of the Constitution, the House of Representatives will vote for president, each state having one vote. The candidate with a majority of the states is then declared the winner. The same process is used in the event of a tie in the Electoral College. Since Republicans hold a majority of the House seats in 27 states, it is likely that Gov. George W. Bush would win such a contest.
Though Citizens for True Democracy is encouraging electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote, another organization has formed petitions for members of both parties. E-The People and Capitol Advantage began their petition drive yesterday.
"Currently, Bush and Gore supporters are feeling out their electors to (1) ensure they are loyal or (2) determine if they would be interested in switching their votes. Our feeling is that if the candidates themselves are whispering into electors' ears, there is no reason the rest of us should not be heard," reads a statement from Capitol Advantage, a provider of legislator communications services on the Internet.
Combining their efforts, the organizations have developed separate petitions -- one for Gore supporters and one for Bush supporters. The completed petitions will be mailed via Federal Express to each state's electors on Dec. 15 -- three days before the Electoral College meets.
Most states require electors to vote in sync with the state's citizens and can impose penalties on those who deviate. For example, of the 19 pro-Bush states targeted by Citizens for True Democracy, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Virginia subject electors to fines if they do not vote for their party's candidate. However, the remaining 16 do not have such penalties, meaning electors could vote for the candidate of their choice.
On Friday, Bob Beckel, a longtime Democrat political operative and manager of Walter Mondale's presidential campaign, stated on a Fox News Channel interview that he is actively engaged in a campaign to convince Electoral College electors pledged to vote for George W. Bush to change their vote to Gore.
Admitting to Fox's Neil Cavuto that he had already talked to "over a hundred" friends in the various Bush-majority states, Beckel stated his simple goal was to persuade just two electors -- enough to swing a 271-vote majority for Gore -- to switch their votes.
Beckel accused Bush of attempting to "steal" the election, and pledged to continue his campaign to sway electors to vote for Gore right up until Dec. 18.
On Tuesday, Gore commented on the Florida Supreme Court's decision to extend the state's election deadline so as to accommodate the Democrats' requests for hand recounts. During those remarks, Gore distanced himself from attempts to sway electoral votes, saying: "I completely disavow any effort to persuade electors to switch their support from the candidate to whom they are pledged. I will not accept the support of any elector pledged to Governor Bush."
Nevertheless, last night on Fox's Hannity & Colmes show, Beckel said he would "respectfully" ignore the vice president's request and continue to try to sway electors.
Although there have been at least 9 instances of electors deviating from party lines over the years, none have resulted in action taken against the "faithless" electors.
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