The Koza Proposal
A
The proposal by John Koza, who also invented the
scratch-off lottery ticket, is receiving serious consideration by lawmakers in
several states. Legislators in
Koza's scheme calls for an interstate compact that
would require states to throw all of their electoral votes behind the winner of
the national popular vote, regardless of which candidate wins in each state.
The plan doesn't require all 50 states to join, but a combination of states
that represent a majority (at least 270) of the electoral votes. If the largest
states join in the agreement, only 11 would be needed.
Supporters say the proposal would avoid such controversial results as the
2000 presidential election when Republican George W. Bush was declared the
winner despite losing the popular vote to Al Gore, a Democrat. There were three
other instances in the history of the
Proponents say Koza's proposal is ingenious
because it would avoid the immensely difficult task of trying to get rid of the
Electoral College system by amending the U.S. Constitution.
Koza, who co-wrote a 620-page book detailing why
it's time to change the system and how his plan would work, said his goal for
this year was to let his ideas germinate with hopes of catching the attention
of some state lawmakers. But the proposal caught on faster than expected.
In
"I think that the Electoral College no longer serves a useful
purpose," Umberg said. "I think direct
election of the president by the citizens of the
Assemblyman Mike Villines, R-Clovis (
And that explains why five Republican lawmakers in
"I think it really hurts the (election) process and, to me, I think it
disenfranchises a lot of voters," he said.
Still, in other states like
"We were surprised that this would happen so quickly," Koza said.
Critics argue that there is nothing wrong with the current system of
"I don't see any reason to change the Electoral College system,"
said John Pitney Jr., professor of American politics at
The Electoral College has been part of the
Each state has one elector for each of its representatives in the U.S. House
and Senate. When voters go to the polls, they are in fact picking the electors
who actually choose the candidate.
Currently, all but
Koza, a registered Democrat who served as an
elector in 1992 and 2000, claims the current system also has resulted in
presidential campaigns largely ignoring states that heavily favor a particular
party or candidate.
"The main thing wrong with the current system is that two-thirds of the
states are left out from the whole system ... because a (presidential)
candidate has no reason to campaign in those states where they are way ahead or
way behind," said Koza, 63, who lives in Los
Altos Hills. "It's not just whose baby gets kissed in which campaign, it
means that, for example, California issues such as Pacific Rim issues, high tech,
California's agriculture don't get addressed."
Koza said he believes a direct popular vote is the
answer.
However, getting rid of the Electoral College by amending the U.S.
Constitution would not be an easy task. It requires a two-thirds vote in both
houses of Congress as well as acceptance by three-fourths of the states.
So, rather than eliminating the Electoral College system, Koza is proposing to use two provisions in the Constitution
to circumvent the system: interstate compacts and the states' power to decide
how they award their electoral votes.
While many political scientists say this is a legally viable way to
institute a national popular vote without amending the Constitution, finding
enough states to jump on board will be difficult.
"In terms of the likelihood of this actually happening, I think it's
pretty slim, considering many of the states have vastly different political
leanings," said Nancy Martorano, an assistant
political science professor at the University of Dayton in Ohio. "I just
don't think states like
Perhaps an easier fix would be to change the states' winner-take-all system
to awarding electoral votes in proportion to the popular vote, Martorano said.
Despite his day job as a computer scientist, pushing for major initiatives
is not new for Koza, who admits he is a longtime
Electoral College junkie.
In 1984, he was the brains behind the
Koza said he sees his latest efforts as a longer
marathon. He believes it would take at least a few years to get enough states
on board.
"Realistically, we would probably need about half of the states,"
he said. "But we've gotten some good responses so far."