What does a national popular vote plan have in common with the lottery?
If you answered "interstate compacts," you're a wonk beyond all redemption. If you answered "Scientific Games," then you've read this article in the Winston-Salem Journal.
John Koza, a Stanford University professor behind the popular vote plan, founded the lottery company years ago, though he's not been involved with it since 1987. In an interview, he laughed about the recent problems of his former company.
"I read about their travails with this guy who somehow was a consultant for Scientific Games," Koza said, referring to Kevin Geddings, who was sentenced last month to four years in prison. "That doesn’t sound like a very good thing to do if you want to stay out of jail!"
Koza said his work on interstate agreements for Powerball and other lottery games was partly the inspiration for his proposal.
Dome, for one, expects to hear about the connection again from state Republicans who oppose both the lottery and the popular vote plan.
