Electoral College

Facts/Details

1. Under the current system, the winner of the statewide popular vote receives all of the electoral votes from that state.

2. New system proposed: if a candidate wins a congressional district, he or she would receive one electoral college vote.

3. Part of the new system: whoever does best in the statewide race would receive two electoral votes.
4. Proposal before the Republican-controlled state legislature that would change the apportionment of Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes for President from winner-take-all statewide to winner-take-all by congressional district

5. A group of people has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund an effort to change the rules of the 2012 presidential election to make it very difficult for President Barack Obama to win reelection

6. Democrats have won Pennsylvania in the last five presidential elections

7. Pileggi proposed this idea in Pennsylvania

8. They believe this is a bad idea because they think the overall voting rate will go down

9. Pennsylvania’s electoral vote in 2008 under the district plan would have gone 11 for Obama 10 for McCain.

10. Seven Democratic U.S. House members in safely Democratic districts and eight of the 12 Republican Pennsylvania House members from are districts considered marginal

Questions
1. Why would they make this change?
2. Would it make counting the votes harder?
3. Would campaigning increase? Why or why not?
4. "If the Republican plan becomes law in either Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, those states would change how electoral votes are awarded." Why just these specific states? Why not all of them?
5. Who supports this change and who does not?
6. Is this really simply to try and make Obama lose?

7. Why is Pennsylvania 'so competitive'?

8. Should Congress eliminate the electoral college all together? Why or why not?