The Lincoln Club of Orange County announced late Tuesday that the Republican club would donate $100,000 to help qualify the Electoral College measure for the ballot.
The measure, which is aiming for the June 2008 ballot, would split California's electoral votes by congressional seat. That means the losing presidential candidate in the state would still win some 20 electoral votes -- the equivalent of Ohio -- a potentially critically swing that Democrats decry as a GOP power grab. Backers have said it would make candidates campaign here in the general election.
"In a winner-take-all process, there are upwards of 5 to 6 million, not a few thousand, voters not counted. There are counties in this state which have more voters and electoral votes than many states,” said Richard K. Wagner, president of the Lincoln Club, in a written statement. “The whole purpose of the Electoral College was to keep large states from dominating presidential elections. The fact that the Constitution allows for states to determine how their electoral votes are allocated is a built-in check and balance.”
The backers of the initiative, which was abandoned by its original sponsors and picked up by a group led by Republican strategist David Gilliard, are racing the clock to gather signatures, with a goal of turning in 700,000 by the end of this week.
Gilliard could not immediately be reached for comment on how close the group is to turning in signatures, though he was quoted by News10 on Monday saying his coalition had a "50-50" chance of qualifying the measure for the June ballot.
See the initial list of donors here and the most recent contributors here. Before the Lincoln Club announcement, Rep. Darrell Issa, who has given approximately $100,000, was the largest donor to the measure.
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