A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION, Supporting the Electoral College.

WHEREAS, the current electoral college system respects states as the essential units in our compound republic, protecting their power and voice in presidential elections; and

WHEREAS, the current electoral college system respects the separation and balance of power and authority between the states and the federal government; and

WHEREAS, the current electoral college system creates a needed balance between rural and urban interests and ensures that the winning candidate has support from multiple regions of the country; and

WHEREAS, the current electoral college system ensures that each state's electoral votes are awarded based on how the state's citizens vote; and

WHEREAS, the current electoral college system best preserves our constitutional separation of powers and prevents the fracture of America's political structure; and

WHEREAS, the founding fathers rejected a national popular vote for president and instead created the Electoral College; and

WHEREAS, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact diminishes the importance of individual states in presidential elections, creates the potential for nationwide recounts, and opens the door to greater federal control; and

WHEREAS, under the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, a state's electoral vote could be awarded to a candidate opposed by the majority of our state's citizens; and

WHEREAS, the constitutionality of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is doubtful because it appears to violate the text of the Compact Clause of the United States Constitution and the intent of the electoral college clauses:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the House of Representatives of the Ninety-Ninth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, the Senate concurring therein, that the Legislature supports the Electoral College and believes the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact may be unconstitutional.

Adopted by the House of Representatives, January 10, 2024

Concurred in by the Senate, January 12, 2024

_____________________ _____________________ Hugh Bartels Patricia Miller Speaker of the House Chief Clerk

_____________________ _____________________ Lee Schoenbeck Peggy Laurenz President Pro Tempore Secretary of the Senate

of the Senate