February 10, 2020
Washington, DC
Signatures updated: 2/12/20
The defining features of the U.S. Constitution are checks on power—including the power of majorities. These include every provision of the Bill of Rights, other limits on federal power, and the separation of those powers among different branches of government. Another fundamental constitutional structure that checks majority power is the Electoral College.
The two-step, state-by-state election process used to select every President since George Washington sets a higher bar than a simple direct election. It forces national parties and campaigns to build broad coalitions, to consider the interests of many different groups of Americans, and to recognize the importance of states. It contains election administration and disputes within individual states. With the Electoral College, states can control their own elections and there is never a need for a nationwide recount.
Any effort to create a direct election would undermine these checks and balances. It would shift political power toward big cities and allow vote fraud in one part of the country to infect the entire election. All of these disastrous consequences would result either from abolishing the Electoral College outright or from hijacking it with the National Popular Vote interstate compact (NPV).
NPV is state legislation that changes how states select Presidential Electors. These states would ignore their own voters and select Electors based on the nationwide vote. In other words, NPV would hijack the Electoral College and force it to rubber stamp the popular vote result. This would create a de facto direct election.
Three liberal law professors developed the idea for NPV after Al Gore lost in 2000. Leftist megadonor John Koza, with support from Jonathan Soros (son of George Soros), launched the National Popular Vote organization in 2006. Koza continues to direct and fund the NPV campaign. He has bragged to the New York Times that NPV is an “end run” around the Constitution.
NPV only takes effect if joined by enough states that they control a majority of electoral votes—270 or more. So far, 15 states plus DC have passed NPV bills. These states control 196 electoral votes, which puts NPV 73% of the way to hijacking the Electoral College. NPV legislation is currently pending in Florida, Missouri, Virginia, West Virginia, and other states.
Conservatives must defend the Electoral College as a bulwark of constitutional federalism and republican governance. “Checks and balances” have not gone out of date. Neither have limits on majority power. The Electoral College worked exactly as designed in both 2000 and 2016 to prevent a collection of major urban areas from controlling the presidency. It rewarded the outreach and coalition building of the Trump campaign rather than the Clinton campaign’s preference to rile up its base in California while labeling broad swaths of Americans a “basket of deplorables.”
The Left’s most dangerous attack on the Electoral College is the National Popular Vote interstate compact. Conservatives must stop NPV in the states and educate Americans about the importance of structures like the Electoral College for the maintenance of liberty and good governance.
| The Honorable Edwin Meese III Attorney General President Ronald Reagan (1985-1988) |
Alfred S. Regnery Chairman, Conservative Action Project Chairman, Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund |
| The Honorable Jim DeMint Chairman, Conservative Partnership Institute Member, US Senate (SC 2005-2013) |
Ed Corrigan Vice Chairman, Conservative Action Project Executive Director, Conservative Partnership Institute |
| Rachel Bovard Senior Director of Policy Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI) |
Tom McClusky President March for Life Action |
| Mary Vought Executive Director Senate Conservatives Fund |
The Honorable Morton C. Blackwell President The Leadership Institute |
| The Honorable Colin A. Hanna President Let Freedom Ring, Inc. |
The Honorable Matt Schlapp Chairman American Conservative Union (ACU) |
| Cleta Mitchell, Esq. Partner Foley & Lardner LLP |
Myron Ebell Director, Center for Energy and Environment Competitive Enterprise Institute |
| Marjorie Dannenfelser President Susan B. Anthony List |
The Honorable Bob McEwen U.S. House of Representatives Former Member, Ohio |
| Kelly J. Shackelford, Esq. Chairman, CNP Action, Inc. President and CEO, First Liberty Institute |
The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr. Former Counselor U.S. Attorney General |
| Lisa B. Nelson Chief Executive Officer American Legislative Exchange Council |
William L. Walton President Council for National Policy |
| Noah Wall Vice President of Advocacy FreedomWorks |
The Honorable David McIntosh President Club for Growth |
| Scott T. Parkinson VP of Government Affairs Club for Growth |
Jenny Beth Martin Chairman Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund |
| The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell Chairman Constitutional Congress, Inc. |
The Honorable Tony Perkins President Family Research Council |
| Adam Brandon President FreedomWorks |
The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop White House Advisor President Ronald Reagan (1981-1985) |
| The Honorable Donald Paul Hodel U.S. Secretary of Energy (1982-1985) U.S. Secretary of Interior (1985-1989) |
Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin (Ret.) Executive Vice President Family Research Council |
| L. Brent Bozell, III Founder and President Media Research Center |
David N. Bossie President Citizens United |
| Michael Farris President and General Counsel Alliance Defending Freedom |
Robert Alt President & CEO The Buckeye Institute |
| Anne Schlafly Cori Chairman Eagle Forum |
Trent England Executive Director Save Our States |
| The Honorable Scott Walker President-Elect Young America’s Foundation |
Floyd Brown Chairman America Fighting Back PAC |
| Eunie Smith President Eagle Forum |
The Honorable James C. Miller III Budget Director for President Reagan |
| Bishop E.W. Jackson President STAND Foundation, Inc. |
Melissa Ortiz Blogger/Administrator DCBelleonWheels.com |
| Dr. John C. Eastman Salvatori Professor, Chapman University Fowler School of Law Senior Fellow, The Claremont Institute |
Rod D. Martin Founder and CEO The Martin Organization, Inc. |
| Sherri R. Martin Executive Vice President The Martin Organization, Inc. |
Haley E. Martin President The Martin Foundation |
| Guillermo J. Aragon Chief Financial Officer Martin Imaging, Inc. |
Benjamin Nieuwsma Founder and CEO Navigo |
| Shawn Mitchell Former National Chaplain National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA) |
The Honorable Jerry Melvin Former Dean Florida House of Representatives |
| Christina Murphy Lusk Campaign for the American Future |
Darrell Henry Executive Director Western Caucus Foundation |
| Jeff Hunt Director Centennial Institute |
Ron Robinson President Young America’s Foundation |
| The Honorable George K. Rasley Jr. Managing Editor ConservativeHQ.com |
Mark Mix President National Right to Work |
| Dr. Jerome R. Corsi, Ph.D. Founder and CEO CorsiNation.com |
Willes K. Lee President National Federation of Republican Assemblies |
| Roxanne Phillips Member, Executive Committee Council for National Policy |
Jake Hoffman President & CEO Rally Forge |
| Peggy Dau Representative IranAliveMinistries.org |
Andresen Blom President Hawaiian Values |
| Craig Dance President / CEO Champion Coach Inc. |
Jack Park Conservative Activist and Donor |
| Bob Carlstrom President AMAC Action |
Seton Motley President Less Government |
| Annette Thompson Meeks CEO Freedom Foundation of Minnesota |
The Honorable Donald J. Devine Former Director U.S. Office of Personnel Management The Fund for American Studies |
| Paavo Ensio Chairman Universal Minerals Group |
Allen Hebert President and Chairman American-Chinese Fellowship of Houston |
| Lori Roman President ACRU Action Fund |
Richard D. Hayes Partner Hayes Berry White & Vanzant LLP |
| Michelle Easton President Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women |
Kay R. Daly President Coalition for a Fair Judiciary |
| Jeremy Cerone CEO EliteSafe Inc. |
Dr. Carolyn McLarty Republican National Committeewoman for Oklahoma Republican National Committee |
| Amapola Hansberger President Legal Immigrants for America |
Sean Noble President American Encore |
| Elaine Donnelly President Center for Military Readiness |
Robert D. Thompson Former Administrator The Weyrich Lunch (1999-2016) |
| The Honorable Charles J. Cooper Assistant Attorney General, President Ronald Reagan Cooper & Kirk, PLLC |
Lee Beaman CEO Beaman Automotive Group |
| Donna Hearne CEO Constitutional Coalition |
Kelly Kullberg Advisor, Spokesperson American Association of Evangelicals |
| Norman Singleton President Campaign for Liberty |
Joan Holt Lindsey President Lindsey Communications |
| Cindy Honcoop State Director Washington Eagle Forum |
Barry Meguiar President Revival Outside the Walls |
| Jay Mount President MDS Communications |
Ron Pearson Executive Director Conservative Victory Fund |
| Mr. C. Preston Noell III President Tradition, Family, Property, Inc. |
Penna Dexter Co-host Point of View Radio |
| The Honorable Penny Pullen Former Illinois State Representative Illinois General Assembly |
Gary Marx President Madison Strategies LLC |
| Augusta Petrone Presidential Elector, 2001 New Hampshire |
Sal Russo Co-Founder and Chief Strategist Tea Party Express |
| Dr. Frank Wright President & CEO D. James Kennedy Ministries |
Rebekah Gantner Executive Director Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund |
| Ed Martin President Phyllis Schlafly Eagles |
Ambassador Henry F. Cooper President Reagan’s Chief Defense and Space Negotiator Former Strategic Defense Initiative Director |
| John F. Tate President America’s Liberty PAC |
Michael C. Maibach Distinguished Fellow on American Federalism Save Our States |
| The Honorable Mike Hill Representative Florida State House |
Kevin Freeman Founder NSIC Institute |
| Bradford Wilson Educator Princeton University |
Dr. John E. Stapleford Chair Caesar Rodney Institute |
| Terrence Scanlon Retired Chairman and President Capital Research Center |
Ralph A. Rebandt II Lead Pastor Oakland Hills Community Church |
| Greg Schaller President John Jay Institute |
Ryan P. Williams President; Publisher, Claremont Review of Books The Claremont Institute |
| Randy M. Long Founder Long Business Advisors, LLC |
The Honorable Peter J. Thomas Chairman The Conservative Caucus |
| Robert Keith Fischer Meeting Coordinator Conservatives of Faith |
William W. Pascoe, III Board Member Tea Party Patriots Action |
| The Honorable Gary L. Bauer President American Values |
All organizations listed for IDENTIFICATION purposes only.
