The GOP's Electoral College Scheme

[swag]

http://www.nationaljournal.com/columns/on-the-trail/the-gop-s-electoral-college-scheme-20121217

By Reid Wilson

Republicans alarmed at the apparent challenges they face in winning the White House are preparing an all-out assault on the Electoral College system in critical states, an initiative that would significantly ease the party's path to the Oval Office.

Senior Republicans say they will try to leverage their party's majorities in Democratic-leaning states in an effort to end the winner-take-all system of awarding electoral votes. Instead, bills that will be introduced in several Democratic states would award electoral votes on a proportional basis.

Already, two states -- Maine and Nebraska -- award an electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district. The candidate who wins the most votes statewide takes the final two at-large electoral votes. Only once, when President Obama won a congressional district based in Omaha in 2008, has either of those states actually split their vote.

But if more reliably blue states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin were to award their electoral votes proportionally, Republicans would be able to eat into what has become a deep Democratic advantage.

. . . more

[Historic NY]

1. Wait, they want to tinker with the Constitution to rig the vote....

but not to fix guns.

[freshwest]

2. Fixing guns would prevent replacing the Constitution with the Articles of Confederacy.

No one should kid themselves about the goals of the GOP. They want this country divided up into fiefdoms where they can control everything.

[goclark]

4. Right you are K and R

this thread.

[Bill USA]

3. important article. recommended!

[Hawaii Hiker]

5. Not just important, critical

If electoral votes are split in blue states only and no red ones, the 2016 election could be decided even before we know who the candiates are..

[dhpgetsit]

6. It seems to me this could backfire.

If they had allowed the electoral votes in states like Arizona or even Texas, I think Obama could have picked up votes from those reliably red states.

[struggle4progress]

8. They're only aiming at a handful of blue states

[struggle4progress]

7. So they want to gerrymander Presidential elections, too