Electoral college measure resuscitated? (Calif.)

[Newsjock]

Source: Sacramento Bee

Last Updated 7:08 pm PDT Monday, October 22, 2007

Two Republican political consultants are trying to revive an initiative to change how California's electoral votes are tallied in next year's presidential election, seeking support from major GOP donors including Rep. Darrell Issa, who helped finance the 2003 gubernatorial recall.

Sacramento-based consultant Dave Gilliard, an Issa adviser, is spearheading an effort to collect at least 600,000 more signatures by mid-November for an initiative that would divvy up California's electoral college votes by congressional district. The June 2008 initiative could provide next year's Republican presidential candidate with an additional 20 or more electoral votes in Democratic-leaning California.

Qualifying the initiative at this late stage will cost at least $2 million to pay for signature gatherers. Neither Gilliard nor fundraiser Anne Dunsmore specified whom their donors will be, but Gilliard said they are seeking Issa's support. Issa was unavailable Monday for comment because he was monitoring fires in his San Diego-area district, a spokesman said.

... The initiative was considered all but dead last month when GOP consultant Tom Hiltachk walked away from the proposal he had filed with the state, as did spokesman Kevin Eckery. They abandoned the effort shortly after critics raised questions about a $175,000 donation the campaign received from Paul Singer, a financier of Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/102/story/447954.html