Free Republic

Pennsylvania Ponders Electoral College Revamp Would choosing electors by congressional district help or hurt the Republican nominee? By Tom Curry 9/16/2011 Democracy may get a whole new look when it comes to presidential politics in 2012. The Electoral College will still bring the next commander in chief to the White House, but tweaks to the system could change the rules of the game. After the 2000 election recount drama, polling showed that most Americans wanted to replace the electoral vote system with direct popular election of the president. But Americans generally don't pay much attention to the mechanics of how...

There are 20 EVs at stake, all of which have gone to Democrats in the last five presidential elections. So this is, to paraphrase Joe Biden, a big effing deal. Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi is trying to gather support to change the state’s “winner-takes-all” approach for awarding electoral votes. Instead, he’s suggesting that Pennsylvania dole them out based on which candidate wins each of the 18 congressional districts, with the final two going to the contender with the most votes statewide. So far, the idea has received support from colleagues of the Delaware County Republican in the state House...

Republicans in charge of the General Assembly want to change how the state hands out its electoral votes, a move that could reshape the national electoral strategies of future presidents and diminish Pennsylvania's role in choosing the country's leader. Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi wants to allocate the 20 electoral votes Pennsylvania will have in the next election according to who wins each of 18 congressional districts, plus two more for whoever wins the statewide popular vote, rather than the winner-take-all system the state now uses. . . . Some analysts said it wouldn't be worth it for campaigns to...