Electoral College

No matter what you think about the electoral college, it is an historical tradition, and a central part of our democracy. And today, North Carolina gave 15 votes to Barack Obama.

At this link you will find the entire event on video.

http://www.wral.com/news/state/video/4144872/

One of the coolest parts was the nominating and second speeches, and 2 Young Democrats got the honors of not just being electors but of nominating Obama and Biden. Kara Hollingsworth helped give the Obama speech and Sam Spencer gave the speech for Biden. This was a proud day for everyone at the state capitol, and I was thrilled that I got to be there.

The time has finally come today, ladies and gentlemen.

Today at noon, at the historic Capitol in Raleigh, North Carolina's 15 Democratic electors will meet to formally cast our state's votes for president and vice president. I encourage everyone to come, either in person or virtually. If you can't make it to the Capitol, there will be televised proceedings at the Museum of Natural Science. For those who aren't near the area at noon, you can view the proceedings on the Secretary of State's website. I believe there is also a reception at 2pm at the Party HQ.

Making North Carolina count in every Presidential Election

Here are some points about SB 353 (the Presidential electors bill) - including my reply to myths and misrepresentations about the proposed change - that I shared with legislators this week as they considered whether to pass it or not.

The state House is poised to pass Senate Bill 353 tomorrow, which would revamp the distibution of electoral college votes in NC. Under this new format, a candidate would get one electoral vote for each congressional district he or she carries. The candidate who wins statewide would take the remaining two votes.

A House Committee approved a bill to distribute NC's electoral votes proportionally, according to the vote in each Congressional District.

Now if it was just retroactive to 2000, we would have had President Gore...

How's that for a catchy title?

Interesting opposing viewpoints in The Charlotte Observer this morning.

EJ Dionne proposes saving Democracy by doing away with the Electoral College. He starts:

"The individual citizen has no federal constitutional right to vote for electors for the president of the United States."

That is not some reactionary piece of propaganda denying your right to choose the next president. It is one of the more memorable sentences from the Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore, the 2000 case that put the current occupant in the White House for his first term.