At least one major Clinton donor, Thomas F. Steyer of Farallon Capital Management, a San Francisco-based hedge fund, has told initiative opponents he is prepared to spend money to defeat it.
"This is all about rigging the system, fixing the system, to tilt the electoral college to the Republicans, all under the pretense of being a reform," Lehane said.
The initiative has been submitted to the California attorney general, an initial step before signature-gathering. The measure is relatively simple, taking fewer than four pages.
If the California Election Code is altered to require that electoral votes be counted by congressional district, California would join Maine and Nebraska (which have a combined nine electoral votes). Other states, including nine-vote Colorado and 15-vote North Carolina, are contemplating changes to their systems.
Changing California's system has been discussed for years. In the 2004 campaign, California Republicans approached the Republican National Committee about the idea. But Bush's political team correctly calculated that Bush could win the election without the added boost, according to Rob Stutzman, a Sacramento-based Republican consultant who was involved in the discussions.
dan.morain@latimes.com
