Wouldn't it be interesting if the election comes down to Colorado's electoral votes and the whole affair ends up in the Colorado Supreme Court.
No! I hope that if it passes, the electoral votes are irrelevant to who wins or loses the presidential election.
I went out to the Make Your Vote Count website. They are apparently aware of potential constitutional problems with this. It is quite obvious this referndum is intended to encourage litigation to create a test case. Considering that the Colorado legislature rejected legislation that would have split its Electoral Vote proportionally, I think they along with the governor should refuse to enforce this amendement if it passes and force the proponents to sue.
Even if it wins, the measure is certain to be challenged in the courts due to questions about its constitutionality.Article II of the Constitution says "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors."
The Colorado ballot measure is being voted on by the people directly, not by the state legislature. But Denver attorney Mark Grueskin, who drafted the measure, said there are Supreme Court precedents supporting the idea of the people being the ultimate authority in such electoral law cases.
Much of the funding of the effort to pass the ballot measure has come from Jorge Klor de Alva, a California resident and a business executive who heads a firm called Apollo International, which is linked to Apollo Group, parent company of the University of Phoenix.
The founder of the Apollo group is Dr. John Sperling, who has been a major Democratic donor, giving thousands of dollars to candidates from John Kerry to Howard Dean. Klor de Alva has contributed to the campaigns of two Democratic congressional candidates.
And take that distinction away from Florida? That hurts.