CBS)
Electoral Quagmire-In-Waiting?
A 5-4 vote in Washington determined the last presidential election. A 5-4 split of Colorado's electoral votes could determine the next one.
When Colorado voters go to the polls in four weeks they won't just be electing a president; they will be determining via ballot initiative whether the state's nine electoral votes ought to be split proportionately based upon the results of the election. If the measure passes, in other words, instead of getting all nine Electoral College votes, the winner of the state's popular vote almost certainly would get only five of those votes; the loser almost certainly would get four. Had the proposed change been in place in 2000, Al Gore would be president today. And if the initiative passes, it very well could determine whether George Bush keeps his job or John Kerry takes it.
That's because, if it passes, the initiative, labeled "Amendment 36" on the ballot, will go into effect on Nov 3 — the day after the election. That means that when the vote in Colorado is certified, when the state's "presidential electors" are selected, and when they go to Washington to cast their votes in the Electoral College, the law in Colorado will direct them to divide themselves proportionately. Colorado voters therefore will be deciding in this upcoming election whether they want to change the rules in Colorado for this upcoming election. Who says life is laid back in the Rocky Mountain West?
