Reclaim Democracy: Reports on local- and state-level initiatives to build grassroots democracy

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Building Grassroots Democracy
Reports on selected local and state level initiatives


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Published January 2, 2007



Imagine Citizens Actually Choosing Our President!
Our method of indirectly electing U.S. presidents via the Electoral College repeatedly has helped put losers of the national popular vote into office -- most recently George W. Bush in 2000. It also harms democracy indirectly by compelling presidential candidates to ignore the concerns of citizens in most states by focusing narrowly on the few “swing states” where citizens' votes actually could influence who will serve as president.

If this sounds overstated, consider that more money was spent on ads in Florida in the final month of the 2004 campaign than in 46 other states combined.

More proposed constitutional amendments have addressed eliminating the Electoral College than any other issue, yet we've remained stuck with this archaic and anti-democratic process due to the unwillingness of less-populated states to give up their “bonus” of enjoying more electoral votes per capita than more populous states (whether they actually gain power from the current system is debatable).

But we've not given up hope. National Popular Vote shows an alternative path to democratizing presidential elections. It's based on the realization that our Constitution already gives states the collective power to reform the Electoral College.

States already have exclusive power over how to choose their electors. Maine and Nebraska currently allocate electoral votes to the candidate who wins each congressional district, for example, while in the 19th century, many legislatures simply appointed electors without holding elections.

Today, 48 states give every electoral vote the popular vote winner in that state, but they could just as easily allocate them to the national vote winner. Of course, one state on its own is unlikely to make this choice, but if a group of states representing a majority of Americans and a majority of Electoral College votes did so, the popular vote winner would necessarily win the presidency.

A binding agreement called an “interstate compact” is proposed to commit the states to acting in unison once the critical mass of states signed on. Sponsors already are lined up to introduce National Popular Vote bills in AL, AZ, CA, CO, DE, GA, HI, IA, IL, KY, LA, MD, ME, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NH, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, VA, VT, WA, WI, and WY and we expect bills to follow in every state.

Of course, this measure must be accompanied by many other structural reforms we advocate, but National Popular Vote offers a concrete plan to help make candidates for our one national elected office more responsive and accountable to every voter.

Visit NationalPopularVote.com for more information. Please contact us regarding advancing National Popular Vote via a ReclaimDemocracy.org chapter.



Preempting Corporate Subsidies
In spring of 2005, the Kansas City area ReclaimDemocracy.org chapter and other local organizations fought to stop a $27.5 million Tax Increment Financing (TIF) package for a shopping center redevelopment anchored by a Wal-Mart. (TIFs are a form of subsidy offered as tax breaks over years, rather than an up-front payout).

But the TIF application and approval process lacked transparency and accountability, and by the time citizens mounted opposition, the TIF was a “done deal.”

While the initial purpose of TIF was to encourage development of blighted areas, only 14% of the TIF projects have been approved in the two most blighted of six city districts. Tens of millions of dollars are awarded annually for TIF projects in Kansas City , and the numbers are growing: since one TIF project was implemented in 1984, the numbers grew to 21 in 1994, and a whopping 52 in 2004.

(TIF abuse is a national problem. Our friends at Good Jobs First have many excellent resources for scrutinizing TIFs and stopping rip-offs.)

To work toward stopping subsides that lack clear public benefit, our KC chapter recently commissioned economists at the University of Missouri-KC to scrutinize city TIF projects for an upcoming Citizen's Guide to TIF and campaign to restore public power over the process. See ReclaimDemocracy.org/KC to learn more.

On a related note, Kansas City was one of several communities to defeat ballot measures seeking public subsides for pro sports teams in November. Though franchise owners routinely extract corporate welfare from host cities by threatening to leave town, the tide may be turning.

Sacramento and Pasadena also soundly defeated such attempts, but the great victory on this front was achieved by Seattle citizens. Despite threats to move the popular Supersonics NBA franchise, citizens just passed a ballot measure proactively banning future public subsidies to pro sports teams!

Congratulations to citizens who helped win in those communities. Please contact us about preempting subsidies in your city. As in most competitions, winning is easier when your side plays offense!



Protecting Drinking Water from Corporatization
From outright corporatization of drinking water systems to depleting groundwater supplies, the availability of safe and inexpensive drinking water in the U.S. is endangered by more than pollution.

Our friends at the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund and the Alliance for Democracy are working with communities to stop corporate takeovers of water supplies through organizing local workshops and passing pro-active laws.

Recently, they helped citizens in Barnstead, NH bar corporations from taking water from within the town for to resell and, advancing a direct attack on “corporate personhood,” prohibited corporations from using U.S. or state constitutional provisions to interfere in community governance or deny people's rights. ......(more)

The rest of the article is at: http://reclaimdemocracy.org/articles/2007/local_state_action_1.07.php