Thread by @walterolson

There's a push currently on to make Minnesota the 16th state to sign on to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC), intended to sidestep the Electoral College and install the election of presidents by popular vote. But.... /1 startribune.com/momentum-build…

As @AndrewRCraig noted in 2021, the NPVIC in present form suffers from unacceptable practical flaws in its mechanics, regardless of what one may think about its aims. /2 cato.org/blog/fatally-f…

Craig: "The Compact’s language simply assumes the existence of a traditional popular vote total in each state but it provides no details on how that is to be ascertained." NPVIC designates no authority to resolve disagreements or reporting gaps regarding that count. /3

This is important in practice because disagreements (good faith or otherwise) and reporting gaps re: the NPV can readily arise from lawful though unusual state election practices, as well as from obstacles that delay or prevent vote reporting. His paper lists several. /4

There have already been moves in some states that oppose the whole idea to certify only electoral vote results and withhold precise popular vote totals precisely in order to frustrate NPVIC. It's unclear courts would have a legal basis to order otherwise. /5

Or to take an entirely different example: as more states begin to use ranked-choice voting #RCV in presidential races (which is a good idea!) the compact provides no way of deciding whether to draw on a state's first-round RCV votes, its final-round, or what exactly. /6

States could throw other hurdles in the path by changing the way they organize the ballot, as by enabling votes for individual electors rather than aggregating them as a slate -- a method in actual use used as recently as 1960. /7

Ambiguities and honest disagreements may lead to divergent interpretations among key players like governors and secretaries of state, some of whom may be under pressure to find a way to slip out of the deal if the NPV yielded the "wrong" result for their party. /8

"In an era when disputed elections are becoming more common and where the laws governing presidential elections are already riddled with dangerous ambiguities, the NPVIC is an invitation to a constitutional crisis." /9, end

Also, some background on the politics of NPVIC in Minnesota and nationwide from @PoliticsWolf: dailykos.com/stories/2023/2… /10