An Electorlal College End Run

In graduate school, John R. Koza and fellow  students invented a complicated board game based on the often misunderstood Electoral College that became a bit of a cult hit.  He also was the co-inventor of the scratch-off lottery ticket. He wrote the MIT Press classic, Genetic Programming: On the Programming of Computers by Means of Natural Selection. Now, a prominent Professor of Computer Science at Stanford, he’s come up with a way to legally get around the Electoral College, which would insure victory to whichever presidential candidate received the most votes. 

It’s true.  A recent New York Times article outlines his plan, which stems from his experience working with state lotteries and the interstate lotteries that states developed for multi-state lotteries like Powerball.  It involves states working together to form interstate compacts on issues which are important to them (pollution, nuclear waste, etc) in an effort to get around the electoral college.  A bill based on Koza’s idea was approved by the California legislature but vetoed by Governor Schwartzenegger yesterday.   The group remains hopeful, however, as they have found sponsors in 22 states for next year.  Ultimately, Koza hopes that his plan will force candidates to campaign nationwide, not just focus on battleground states. 

We’ll keep you updated on how it all goes.