Marylanders head to the primaries today to choose a presidential candidate for their party. Their votes may matter this time around. But if every state followed Maryland?s lead, voters in the Free State and all over the United States could see their decisions overturned. Last year the General Assembly passed, and Gov. Martin O?Malley signed, legislation to hand over all of Maryland?s electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote for president instead of the one chosen by the majority of Maryland?s voters.
Legislators say this tactic would have prevented George W. Bush from taking office in 2000 when Democrat Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote. Maybe so, but that situation has only happened a few times throughout our nation?s history, making the law an overreaction to an anomaly. Besides, Maryland went for Gore, so it would not have changed the outcome.
And in the very small likelihood a repeat of 2000 occurs in the near future, the law creates a potentially much bigger problem ? disenfranchising Maryland?s voters. Let?s say a Republican wins the popular vote in the national election but the Democrat wins the most electoral votes. Should voters in this heavily Democratic state be forced by fiat to support the Republican? We doubt this law would have passed if Gore?s and Bush?s roles were reversed eight years ago.
The law also strikes us as a backdoor way to amend the U.S. Constitution without going through the arduous process of doing so in Congress or throughout the state legislatures.
And widespread adoption of the law sets the United States on a path to eliminating states? powers. Philosophically, there is not much difference between calling for a popular election of president and the popular election of all of the country?s federal legislators. As a small state, Marylanders would hold little sway over elections in that form of government. That could only injure Maryland?s status as a laboratory for progressive legislation on issues ranging from climate change to health care reform.
This law is no excuse not to vote. We must exercise that right if we expect our views to be respected by those who represent us. But state legislators would serve Marylanders well by repealing a law with a greater potential to silence the will of the people than to exercise it.
