"My issue is that this system opens the door for two kinds of mischief.
One: Think Florida times 10. As political scientist John J. Pitney Jr. wrote in City Journal, 'If the national popular vote decided the presidency, the losing side in a tight race would challenge election results everywhere it could, even in states where the margin was large. If you like Florida in 2000, you'll love the National Popular Vote.'
Chuck Bell, election attorney to GOP stars, sees NPV as 'electoral dynamite' - with recounts, challenges and court rulings in those states stirring up 'national chaos, worse than Bush vs. Gore.'
Stern agrees that the Florida ad nauseam argument is 'legitimate.'
Two: What happens if enough states pass NPV compacts in time for the 2012 election, and Californians go for President Obama, but the national vote swings to the Republican nominee by a tight margin?
Will Gov. Brown stand by the law, or will he refuse to support it, just as he refused to support Proposition 8, the voter-approved same-sex marriage measure, when he was attorney general?"
National Popular Vote - law or ploy?
SFGate:
