General Assembly Senate Joint Resolution No. 11
January Session, 2017 LCO No. 5070
*05070SJ00011GAE*
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
General Assembly
Senate Joint
Resolution No. 11
January Session, 2017
LCO No. 5070
*05070SJ00011GAE*
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE CURRENT ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM AS THE BEST WAY TO ELECT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
Resolved by this Assembly:
WHEREAS, the Founding Fathers rejected having the President of the United States elected by a national popular vote and instead chose the Electoral College system; and
WHEREAS, the current Electoral College system encourages presidential candidates to campaign in large metropolitan areas as well as in rural areas and small states; and
WHEREAS, the current Electoral College system ensures that the winning presidential candidate has support from multiple regions of the country; and
WHEREAS, the current Electoral College system respects the Founding Fathers' strong belief that individual states should have a vital role in electing the President of the United States; and
WHEREAS, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact diminishes the importance of individual states in presidential elections; and
WHEREAS, the current Electoral College system respects the separation and balance of power and authority between the state governments and the federal government; and
WHEREAS, the current Electoral College system ensures that Connecticut's electoral votes are awarded based on how the majority of the state's electors voted; and
WHEREAS, under the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Connecticut's electoral votes may be awarded to a candidate for whom the majority of the state's electors did not vote; and
WHEREAS, the current Electoral College system is better suited to address recounts because they occur at the state level and are thus more manageable than if recounts were to occur at the national level as may be the case pursuant to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, if adopted; and
WHEREAS, the current Electoral College system creates a necessary balance between agrarian and industrial interests; and
WHEREAS, the current Electoral College system best preserves our two-party system and prevents the fracture of the nation's political structure; and
WHEREAS, the United States Congress has rejected over one thousand amendments to the United States Constitution to change the Electoral College, including amendments to implement a popular vote system; and
WHEREAS, the legality of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is questionable because Article I, Section 10 of the United States Constitution sets forth that no state, without the consent of the United States Congress, may "enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State."
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the State of Connecticut endorses the current Electoral College system as the best way to elect the President of the United States; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the State of Connecticut shall defeat any legislation that creates a multistate compact for the purpose of dismantling the current Electoral College system.
Co-Sponsors: SEN. MCLACHLAN, 24th Dist.
Co-Sponsors:
SEN. MCLACHLAN, 24th Dist.
S.J. 11