Turley urges Democrats to target Electoral College after midterms
Law professor Jonathan Turley argues that a strong Democratic showing in the midterms could open the door to sweeping changes to the Electoral College, including a state-based compact that would sidestep the constitutional amendment process.
Constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley argues that a Democratic victory in the midterm elections could embolden the party to pursue major changes to the Electoral College, and he warns that some proposals under discussion would reach far beyond the presidential selection process. In a Fox News opinion column, Turley says the pressure to act would grow once the new Congress takes shape.
Turley contends that Republican losses in the midterms, roughly 46 seats, were modest by historical standards. He points to much larger setbacks in previous cycles, including the 79 seats lost by Franklin D. Roosevelt's party, 69 seats lost under Barack Obama, 68 under Harry Truman and 54 under Bill Clinton. By that measure, he suggests, the current result gives Democrats less of a mandate to shake up the system than some in the party may believe, yet he says it could still provide momentum for structural change.
Among the ideas Turley describes are ending the Senate filibuster, expanding the Supreme Court and admitting the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as states. He says Democrats could seek to pack the Court to enable other changes. He also cites the legal scholar Michael Klarman, who he says has proposed radical electoral reforms. Turley adds that Democrats reportedly gained a significant number of governorships, which he sees as useful for advancing state-level efforts.
The central mechanism Turley highlights is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Under the agreement, participating states would commit their electoral votes to whichever presidential candidate wins the national popular vote, and it would take effect without the formal amendment process laid out in Article V of the Constitution. Turley notes that the compact's constitutionality has never been tested in the courts, leaving its legal footing uncertain.
Turley says he has changed his own position on the Electoral College. He now opposes abolishing it, even though he cites polling showing that 58 percent of Americans favor electing the president by popular vote. He also links the Democratic Socialists of America to proposals to eliminate the Senate, the Court and the presidency, and he draws a comparison to the French Jacobins and the Reign of Terror. These arguments form the basis of his recent book, Rage and the Republic.
The column comes as President Donald Trump has taken his own aggressive stance toward Democrats. Trump said he had ordered a Justice Department probe into Democrats over alleged threats against officials, in a post that also targeted threats to impeach Attorney General Todd Blanche. He named Sen. Elissa Slotkin, citing remarks she made on October 13 at the University of Chicago about deterring young people from joining the Trump administration. Trump called the alleged threats extortion and asked for a criminal investigation.
Source: foxnews.com
4
