Ok, I think all Democrats in America can now safely let out a collective sigh of relief.
The Republican effort that drew nationwide attention for its potential implications in the 2008 presidential election will not appear on the June ballot. Subsequently, there will be no changes to California’s electoral distribution next year, according to organizers on Thursday.
The initiative could have tilted the presidential election towards the GOP nominee by changing how the Golden State awards electoral votes. Republican backers of the initiative said they were unable to raise sufficient money; ultimately, running into the same problem they had once before.
Dave Gilliard, the Sacramento consultant who has managed the campaign said that even if a "... financial angel" were to shower the campaign with the $1 million needed to succeed in getting the initiative on the June ballot, there is not enough time to qualify the measure for June.
This morning’s L.A. Times.com has the encouraging story:
"I was surprised that more people that finance these types of efforts didn't step forward," Gilliard said. "We had strong supporters and good supporters but didn't come anywhere close to making the budget."
Deadlines passed last week for submitting petitions to elections officials, who would have determined whether supporters had gathered the necessary 434,000 signatures of registered voters. Typically, gathering enough signatures costs about $2 million; organizers must overshoot their mark to allow for invalid names.
Gilliard said proponents held out hope that the measure could appear on the November ballot, with the presidential contest. But he said that was a dicey scenario: Even if it were on that ballot and won voter approval, it might not affect the 2008 election.
The initiative might not kick in until 2012, Gilliard said -- adding that courts likely would decide the question.
The proposal would replace California's winner-take-all system of appropriating its 55 electoral votes, awarding them instead by which candidate wins individual congressional districts.
As it stands, Republicans hold 19 congressional seats in California, which means the GOP presidential candidate could win up to 19 electors, roughly the equivalent of Ohio’s.
Howard Dean, the Democratic Party chairman has said that Democrats could not win the White House without all of California’s 55 electoral votes, which add up to more than 10% of the 538 electoral votes nationally. Although expressing confidence that they could have defeated the measure in court, Democrats said they were relieved that the measure wouldn’t appear in June.
"This effort to rig the presidential elections demonstrates that the Republicans ... recognize that they will be a minority party if they lose the White House and will do everything they can to hold on to power," said Democrat Chris Lehane, who helped organize the opposition.
He said Democrats plan to push alternative proposals in various states that would bypass the Electoral College altogether and elect presidents by a national popular vote.
The Electoral College measure first ran into trouble in October when the original proponent, Sacramento attorney Tom Hiltachk, abandoned the campaign. He and his team raised only $175,000. After Hiltachk dropped the measure, Gilliard took it up, vowing to raise $2 million and enlisting the support of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., a longtime client. Issa donated $100,000, the California Republican Party gave $150,000 and Orange County Lincoln Club, an organization of Republican contributors, chipped in $75,000. Several other Republican stalwarts gave five- and four-figure checks. But donations have totaled about $1.3 million, well short of the mark.
"Raising money is proving to be a lot more difficult than was anticipated," Gilliard said.
Democrats had mounted an aggressive effort to block the measure, filing a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), and even California’s Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger voiced skepticism over it. The Democrats’ complaint alleged that the backers of Republican candidate Rudolph W. Giuliani was violating federal regulations by supporting the proposal.
The Democrats’ main contention was that one of Giuliani’s largest fundraisers, Paul E. Singer, had seeded the initiative with the original $175,000 donation.
Ok, I was beginning to worry about this scam, taking into account the way the GOP has been able to use dirty tricks to win elections in recent years. We dodged a death knell in our hopes to gain the White House today, folks. Now, by all accounts, given current polling, Democrats have an excellent chance of winning the election next year, thus beginning the arduous process of repairing the egregious damage done by eight long years of Republican (mis)rule.
Geez, has it only been eight years? Somehow, it seems more like twenty to me.
Peace