The following are the responses to the National Popular Vote Compact Study
Consensus submitted for LWV Of Brookfield as recorded by Dorothy Dori, Voter
Service .
Amending the Constitution:
1.
Actions to alter a basic element of the Constitutional framework, which is
achievable by amendment to the Constitution, should be accomplished by amendment
to the Constitution.
2. Because a compact has never before been used to
address a fundamental constitutional issue such as voting, the chance that it
might set a precedent for the future leads to the conclusion that it is better
that the League continue to work for an amendment to the Constitution to
establish the direct popular election of the President and the abolition of the
Electoral College.
Congressional Consent
3. The
possibility that the NPV Compact will require congressional consent is not of
sufficient concern to block the implementation of the
plan.
Enforcement
4. The group could not reach
consensus
Uniformity
5. The uniformity of voting systems is
more important to American democracy than the possibility that the NPV Compact
can be adopted.
Popular Election of the President
6. It is more
important to amend the Constitution to abolish the Electoral College than it is
to achieve the goal of popular election of the President by alternative methods,
such as the NPV Compact.
Achievability
7a. Agree
7b. No
Consensus
Additional Comments:
We used a combination of discussion and ballot voting to reach consensus. We struggled with some of the questions, especially #5. We did not like wording. We also questioned whether the necessity for Congressional consent should have been more clearly defined before beginning a study that could lead to action. We would like as a whole to see more about amending the Constitution.