This article in CapitalNewYork analyzes one of the biggest mysteries of the National Popular Vote Plan movement…why the plan has never passed in New York state. The plan has passed in the State Senate in New York (in a previous legislative session) so the conventional wisdom would predict that it would also pass in the Assembly, where Democrats have a huge majority over Republicans. But because the Democratic Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, and the Speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, don’t seem to care about the bill, so far it has not passed the Assembly.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
The thought of New York handing its electoral votes to a Republican winner of the popular vote makes them gag.
Walter,
Republicans lost by 26% in NY last time out of the gate, and since there’s no Dutch Reagan in the Republican AAA League I don’t think there’s too much fear among NY Democrats of “gagging” any time in the near future.
I suggest you dig a bit deeper in your analysis.
@2 That’s exactly my point. They would gag if the Republicans won the NATIONAL vote and they had to give up NY’s electoral votes if the Dem carried NY big.
the NYS constitution would be violated by such a plan. — but of course the NYS and US constitutions are dead letter law
also see 2nd amendment case
U.S. District Court
Eastern District of New York (Central Islip)
CIVIL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 2:07-cv-03983-ADS-AKT
Razzano v. County of Nassau et al
Assigned to: Judge Arthur D. Spatt
Referred to: Magistrate Judge A. Kathleen Tomlinson
Demand: $100,000
Cause: 28:1331 Federal Question: Other Civil Rights
Date Filed: 09/24/2007
Walter,
What is it about New York legislators, do you think, that makes them more “gaggy” than legislators in blue states California, Maryland, Rhode Island, etc? Please be specific in your analysis.
@5 Some Dems, like some Reps, are more partisan than others.
@4 natural: Which section of the New York state constitution would be violated by such a plan?
5 thank you for your in-depth analysis
New York Democrats prefer the status quo to “change” of any kind, especially when it comes to the election machinery. Democrats here are no more “democratic” than Republicans in this way. It seemed to me at the time when the State Senate passed the National Popular Vote that it was a “one house bill” that has become so prevalent here in New York. Simply window dressing and nothing more, since they knew the other house wouldn’t even bring the bill to the floor for a vote.
Probably, since Democrats have won NY in every presidential election since 1988 (7 in a row), and by big margins, they don’t want to risk the possibility of having to give their EV to a Republican candidate simply because that candidate got more votes nationally.
Some of these posts make no sense. Every state backing the National Popular Vote plan to date has been one that Democrats have won several times in a row, meaning that they have always given their electoral votes to the Democratic candidate.
But NPV backers in these states said “So what?” Presidential elections fundamentally are not about state electors. They are about electing presidents. Backers won a fair presidential election where every vote is treated the same and the candidate with the most votes wins. Kinda simple.
11 –
What a ridiculous argument! Don’t you see? The legislators in those other blue states just don’t gag as easily as the ones in New York.