One year after requiring voters to show photo identification, state Republican leaders are set in 2013 to consider changing Pennsylvania’s nearly two-century-old method of awarding its presidential votes. As with voter ID, the proposal is being met with howls of protest from Democrats. Like 48 other states, Pennsylvania uses a winner-take-all system with its electoral votes: when Barack Obama won 52 percent of the state’s vote on Nov. 6 to Mitt Romney’s 47 percent, he bagged all 20 of them. A measure from state Sen. Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware County, would instead award 18 of them according to the popular vote breakdown and give two others to the state’s overall winner.
Under the plan Mr. Obama would have split the Pennsylvania haul with Mr. Romney 12 to 8. A similar plan put forward Wednesday by two GOP House members would award electoral votes by how many of the state’s 18 congressional districts a candidate won, with the popular winner getting two extras. Under that plan Mr. Romney would have taken 13 electoral votes and Mr. Obama 7.
In their sponsorship memo, Reps. Robert Godshall, R-Montgomery, and Seth Grove, R-York, wrote “the Congressional District Method will increase voter turnout and encourage candidates to campaign in all states rather than just those that are competitive. Most importantly, this method of selecting presidential electors will give a stronger voice to voters in all regions of our great Commonwealth.”
Full Article: Pennsylvania looks to alter state’s electoral vote system – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.