It wasn’t so long ago, coming off a bruising presidential election, that Republicans were looking at ways to increase vote percentages among younger and minority voters to remain a contender in national elections. But it appears professional Republicans have decided that’s either impossible, unnecessary or perhaps just too hard. Because now they’re going for another possibility: rig the electoral college to insure Republican presidential victories with a decreasing voter base. In other words, nuclear gerrymandering. The plan is to game the electoral college to rig the system for Republicans. It works like this. Because of big victories in the 2010 midterm — and defending majorities in 2012 — Republicans now enjoy complete control of a number of midwestern states that usually vote Democratic in national (and increasingly in senatorial) elections. It may be temporary control but for now it’s total. Use that unified control in states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania to change the system of electoral vote allocation from winner-take-all to proportional allotment. So if you win Ohio by one percent you get about half the electoral votes and just a smidge more as opposed to winning everything.
On it’s own terms, that’s not necessarily a bad thing (probably but not necessarily) — if all the states take the same course. But that’s the idea — just do it in states where Republicans routinely lose. Obviously, if it’s proportional in Dem-leaning swing states and winner-take-all in the Red States that leaves Republicans with a massive advantage. And that’s the idea.
Now, I’m not sure how successful it’s going to be. This has been tried half-heartedly in the past. And when it comes down to it, state legislators and governors usually are not inclined to damage their own state’s electoral clout for electoral gain quite that transparently.
Full Article: GOP Embraces Nuclear Gerrymandering | TPM Editors Blog.