Every Vote Equal: A State-Based Plan for Electing the President by National Popular Vote - Softcover

John R. Koza; Barry Fadem; Mark Grueskin; Michael S. Mandell; Robert Richie; Joseph F. Zimmerman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0979010713 ISBN 13: 9780979010712

Publisher: National Popular Vote Press, 2008

Synopsis

The book argues that the President of the United States should be elected in the same manner as all other elected officials, namely a popular election in which each vote is equally important. The book outlines the current system of electing the President. It explains that the U.S. Constitution specifies that the manner of electing the President is a matter of state law, and that the states have the power to implement a national popular vote for President. The book describes, in detail, an interstate compact entitled the "Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote." The legislation described in the book is currently under consideration by state legislatures throughout the United States. The 2nd edition contains responses to 61 "myths" that are commonly raised about the proposed National Popular Vote system.

About this title

About the Author

John R. Koza, originator of the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote described in this book, received his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Michigan in 1972. He published a board game Consensus involving Electoral College strategy in 1966. From 1973 through 1987, he was co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Scientific Games Inc. where he co-invented the rub-off instant lottery ticket used by state lotteries. In the 1980s, he and attorney Barry Fadem (co-author of this book) were active in promoting adoption of lotteries by various states through the citizen-initiative process and legislative action. He has taught a course on genetic algorithms and genetic programming at Stanford University since 1988. He is currently a consulting professor in the in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. He is Chair of National Popular Vote, a non-profit organization promoting enactment of the National Popular Vote bill described in this book. Barry F. Fadem is a partner in the law firm of Fadem & Associates in Lafayette, California. He specializes in all aspects of campaign and election law, and provides expert consultation in the area of initiatives and referendums. He is President of National Popular Vote. Mark Grueskin is a shareholder at Isaacson Rosenbaum P.C. in Denver and chairs the firm s Public Law and Policy practice. Michael S. Mandell has been an associate with the law firm of Perkins Coie Brown & Bain in Phoenix and is currently the general counsel to the Arizona State Senate. He received his J.D. with honors from Arizona State University, where he was an editor of the Arizona State Law Journal. Robert Richie has been the executive director of FairVote (formerly The Center for Voting and Democracy), a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing fair elections, since its founding in 1992. Joseph F. Zimmerman is Professor of Political Science at the State University of New York at Albany. He has authored of Interstate Cooperation: Compacts and Administrative Agreements (2002), Interstate Relations: The Neglected Dimension of Federalism (1996), Contemporary American Federalism: The Growth of National Power (1992), The Initiative: Citizen Law-Making (1997), The Referendum: The People Decide Public Policy (1997), and The Recall: Tribunal of the People (1997).

Review

This book describes the "Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote" an innovative approach that is a politically practical way to achieve the goal of nationwide popular election of the President. It has my enthusiastic support. --John B. Anderson (R - Illinois and Independent presidential candidate)

The President and Vice President should be chosen by the same method every other elective office in this country is filled by citizen voters of the United States in a system which counts each vote equally. ... I unequivocally support this new strategy to provide for the direct election of the President and Vice President. This new approach is consistent with the Constitution ... It s refreshing to know states have the ability under the Constitution to step up and create the sensible solution Americans have long been supporting. --Birch Bayh (D - Indiana)

The people have supported the direct election of the president for over fifty years. In this book, Dr. Koza suggests a way for states to come together and make it happen. ... I strongly support and applaud any good-faith effort to make the direct election of the president a reality and commend to you the intriguing approach offered in the "Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote" described in this book. --John Buchanan (R - Alabama)

Edition details

• Publisher: National Popular Vote Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0979010713
• ISBN 13: 9780979010712
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 716