skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Sunday, May 18, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Millions under threat of strong tornadoes and violent winds as storm danger increases Friday; Expanded Clean Slate laws in NC, US could improve public safety; TX farmers and ranchers benefit from federal conservation funds; Head Start supports WA parents, celebrates 60 years.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Omaha elects its first Black mayor, U.S. Supreme Court considers whether lower courts can prevent Trump administration's removal of birthright citizenship, and half of states consider their own citizenship requirements for voter registration.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

New Mexico's acequia irrigation system is a model of democratic governance, buying a house in rural America will get harder under the Trump administration's draft 2026 budget, and physicians and medical clinics serving rural America are becoming a rarity.

Federal Court Ruling Changes How We Elect the President

play audio
Play

Friday, August 23, 2019   

Sacramento, CA - A new court ruling says states cannot penalize a delegate to the Electoral College for voting against the popular vote from that state. Comments from John Koza, chair of National Popular Vote.

It just got a bit more likely - that the next election will be decided by a single vote in the Electoral College - in the wake of a federal court decision this week. A federal judge in the 9th circuit decided that states cannot replace or punish a so-called "faithless elector" even if it's one of 30 states, such as California, that requires delegates to support the candidate who got the most votes in that state. John Koza from the group National Popular Vote - says there were seven electors who went against their party's wishes in 2016.

"But I can assure you in 2020, both parties are going to be super diligent at nominating only presidential electors that they absolutely know will support the party's nominee. "

Critics of winner-take-all laws argue that it's unfair to require electors to respect majority rule, especially when a candidate loses by a very thin margin in a given state and then forfeits all of that state's electoral votes. Koza says the case is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

He adds that President Donald Trump's re-election could easily come down to a single elector - because two states he won last time, Pennsylvania and Michigan, are now trending blue, and if nothing else changed, he would be at exactly 270 votes - the number needed to win in the Electoral College and be re-elected.

"And one elector from either party, if they voted for someone else, that would deny Trump the majority in the Electoral College"

Koza's group promotes the Interstate National Popular Vote Compact - where dozens of states have committed their delegates to whomever wins the national popular vote. The idea is to avoid the situation where a presidential candidate wins more votes overall but loses in the Electoral College, which has happened twice in the past 15 years. President George W. Bush won in 2000 despite losing by more than half a million in the popular vote. In 2016, Trump won despite earning 3 million fewer votes overall.

It just got a bit more likely - that the next election will be decided by a single vote in the electoral college - in the wake of a federal court decision this week. Suzanne Potter has more.

I'm Suzanne Potter

Reach Koza via Sara Croom at 202-550-9158. Ruling: https://pnsne.ws/30oPeHK





get more stories like this via email

more stories
Since its inception in 1965, Head Start has served nearly 40 million children and their families. (Save the Children)

Social Issues

play sound

This Sunday is the 60th anniversary of Head Start, the federally funded preschool program supporting more than 12,000 children, up to age four…


Environment

play sound

By Dawn Attride for Sentient.Broadcast version by Mark Richardson for Arkansas News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaborati…

Environment

play sound

Friday is Endangered Species Day and experts are reminding Rhode Islanders of the plight of the North Atlantic right whale. Right whales' habitat is …


The peninsular bighorn sheep is federally listed as an endangered species. (Chrismr/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Today, on the 20th anniversary of Endangered Species Day, conservation advocates warn polices of President Donald Trump's administration are …

Environment

play sound

New data show Arizona's two largest airports have fared well for on-time departures and arrivals but the same cannot be said about U.S. airlines in …

Eastern hellbenders reproduce from late August to October, with females laying 150-450 eggs that males guard and oxygenate until they hatch, in 45 to 75 days. (Ondreicka/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

It is Endangered Species Day, a reminder some plants and wildlife need protection, like Pennsylvania's eastern hellbender. It is the state's …

Environment

play sound

By Dawn Attride for Sentient.Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Greater Dakota News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaborati…

Environment

play sound

A recent poll by the National Wildlife Federation showed Texas farmers and ranchers benefit from voluntary conservation programs from the U.S…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021