Why the California Electoral Vote Ploy is Illegal

There have been several diaries and a lot of discussion recently on the ballot initiative that is going to be voted on in California in June.  The actual ballot initiative can be found here.

The key text in this initiative comes in the proposed Section 6902(b):

An elector shall be elected in each congressional district if the candidate to whom that elector has pledged to vote received a plurality of the popular vote cast in that congressional district. The two at-large electors shall be elected if the candidates to whom those electors have pledged to vote received a plurality of the popular vote cast in the state.

If you'll follow me over the fold, we'll see just why this is illegal.

There is nothing wrong with the text itself.  Dividing electors in this manner is certainly possible, two states do it already (Maine and Nebraska)

However, the method that is being used to enact this legislation in California directly violates the Constitution of the United States.  To quote the relevant piece of the Constitution: (Article 2 Section 1 Paragraph 2)

Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector.

The question then becomes is a popular initiative considered an act of a Legislature?  The Constitution of the State of California weighs in on this

"The initiative is the power of the electors to propose statutes and amendments to the constitution and to adopt or reject them."

Sourced here

It's pretty clear that a popular ballot initiative does not qualify as an act of the Legislature, and thus under the provisions of Article 2 Section 1 cannot be used to change the manner in which Presidential electors are elected.  The GOP's last ditch effort isn't possible here.