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TO EXPRESS THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S UNWAVERING SUPPORT FOR THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE, AND TO URGE THE GOVERNOR AND ATTORNEY GENERAL OF SOUTH CAROLINA TO LITIGATE AGGRESSIVELY AGAINST ANY EFFORT TO REPEAL OR NULLIFY IT, INCLUDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE INTERSTATE COMPACT.
Whereas, the founding fathers, through deliberation and compromise, devised the Electoral College to answer the nation's need for an effective voting mechanism in the presidential selection process; and
Whereas, the Electoral College is part of the United States Constitution's system of checks and balances, designed to ensure that the interests of smaller states, including states like South Carolina, are not ignored; and
Whereas, the Electoral College, as provided for in the Constitution of the United States, provides a balance between rural and urban interests by ensuring that winning candidates have support from multiple regions of the country; and
Whereas, all states, including South Carolina, currently allocate their electoral votes based on the vote of citizens within their state, which is an appropriate exercise of state legislative authority pursuant to Section 1, Article II of the United States Constitution; and
Whereas, the Founding Fathers explicitly rejected a national popular vote for president and instead created the Electoral College to ensure that the will of the majority is carried out while guaranteeing that the voices of this nation's minorities are heard; and
Whereas, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an effort to nullify the Constitution's state-by-state process in order to create de facto direct election for president; and
Whereas, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact would diminish the importance of individual states in presidential elections and create the potential for nationwide recounts and federal intervention in the states' election processes; and
Whereas, under the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, a state's electoral votes could be given away to a candidate who is opposed by the majority of the state's citizens; and
Whereas, any attempt to modify the current Electoral College would jeopardize a secure system which has been effective for over two centuries in providing for a peaceful transition of presidential power. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, express unwavering support for the Electoral College and urge the Governor and Attorney General of South Carolina to litigate aggressively against any effort to repeal or nullify it, including the implementation of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
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