ABC27 WHTM Democrats fire back at new PA electoral plan

Democrats fire back at new PA electoral plan

The 2012 Presidential Election is more than a year away, but the debate is on about whether Pennsylvania should change its winner-take-all method when it comes to awarding our electoral votes.

Tuesday at the State Capitol, Democrats fired back at a Republican sponsored bill that would break up electoral votes and divvy them up by congressional districts. They say the new plan would destroy Pennsylvania's status as a battleground state and rig elections.

"We're not even a state anymore if this passes in terms of presidential politics - we're 18 Wyomings [and] 18 individual states with no clout," said Senator Daylin Leach (D) of Delaware County.

Democrats argue the proposal to award electoral votes by congressional district will have a major impact across the nation, especially if more close races like the 2000 Bush vs. Gore showdown come into play.

"When you have presidential elections being decided by 4 votes.... the fact that 12 votes would be switched could easily change the result of a future presidential election," says Leach.

Democrats say it's a plan to gerrymander and get Republican votes in a state that goes traditionally blue in presidential politics.  Senator Dominic Pileggi (R) of Delaware County,  the author of the bill, says this has nothing to do with partisan politics.

"Its not about advancing a Democrat agenda, a Republican agenda, a Democratic candidate, or a Republican candidate," he said. "It's about having the people of Pennsylvania, when they cast their vote for president, know that their vote means something."

Others don't agree. "We don't change the rules to make someone happy who doesn't like the results of an election," Leach said. "Elections are supposed to be fair...sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, and that's unfortunate, but that's the nature of the system."

According to Real Clear Politics, even though President Obama won the state by 11 points in 2008, it's still clearly considered a battleground state because the president's low approval rating will have him fighting an uphill battle in the Keystone State in 2012.

"I don't think anyone has criticized the objective - the intent to more closely align the electoral college vote to the popular vote, which is the will of the people of Pennsylvania," says Pileggi.

Critics of the plan say if politicians truly want the voting process to be fair, than they should abolish the Electoral College all together and decide the winner strictly by popular vote.