[Freesofar]

What will this mean to the electoral college tally ? As someone else said here a few days ago it will effectively give Colorado ONE vote ? Since the 7 votes will be split 4-3 ?

Will Colorado be another Florida Supreme court battle or is this a done deal ?

[mcg1969]

I think this could conceivably end up in the Supreme Court, yes.

But at the moment the measure looks headed for defeat anyway. I think most people realize that they would want their favorite candidate, whoever it is, to get the full power of the state's electoral votes.

[GeronL]

why would they file a challenge in federal court.. are they dense?

[Oblongata]

This was a very good decision by the judge. Not the decision I hoped for, but the right decision.

On the other hand, there is a different issue that should be looked at by a judge.

Can you vote for a candidate and a measure on the ballot that changes how your vote affects that same candidate and have the results of the measure affect the same election?

If my statement above is unclear, let me clarify. It makes sense that the electoral votes measure would apply to the next presidential elction, but not the current one.

[Brandon]

The judge was right to dismiss the suit, but he did it for the wrong reason. He should have dismissed it because the issue is not yet ripe -- the referendum has not yet passed, so no one has been harmed. Filing this suit prior to the referendum being voted on was like filing a lawsuit because a bill has been introduced in Congress -- it's a non-starter. The judge should have dismissed on THAT basis, and told the plaintiffs to come back after Nov. 2, if the issue passes, and if they can demonstrate that they have been harmed.

[capitan_refugio]

The Constitution leaves it to the states how they want to determine their Electoral College votes (Article II, Section 1, Clause 2). It does not require "winner take all," or even that the people of the state get to vote for Electors. As late as 1860, South Carolina still determined its Electors by a vote of the State Legislature itself.

The only point of concern I would have is that the Presidential election in Colorado may be certified before the ballot issue. It seems to me that you cannot change the system after the election (similar to the issue in Bush v Gore?)

[Always Right]

The measure, Amendment 36, would scrap Colorado's winner-take-all system for distributing its nine Electoral College votes. Instead, presidential candidates a would be awarded a share of the electoral votes based on the popular vote. The change would begin with this year's elections.

There is federal law that disallows this being in effect this year. Federal law clearly states the rules that govern the selection of electors for the Presidency shall be the rules in place the day prior to the election. This was the basis for the first Gore v. Bush 9-0 ruling.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Since the 7 votes will be split 4-3 ?

Colorado has 9 electoral votes, not 7.

Judge dismisses case challenging Amendment 36