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Proposed Electoral College Changes Could Help GOP in Swing States

Republicans seeking changes in how electoral votes are allocated.

 

Under a new plan proposed by Republicans in Virginia and other key battleground states, electoral college votes would no longer be allocated solely by statewide popular vote.

Had the plan been in place during the most recent election, President Obama would have won just four of Virginia's 13 electoral votes in the past election, rather than all of them. And according to the Huffington Post, had the 2012 election been apportioned in every state according to these new Republican plans, Mitt Romney would have led Obama by at least 11 electoral votes.

According to the Washington Post and other media outlets, the plan would allocate all but two electoral votes by congressional districts won, and the last two by statewide popular vote. In almost all states, including Georgia, the electoral vote is now apportioned solely by the statewide popular vote.

The other states pondering such changes are Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Like Virginia, their electoral votes went to Obama in 2012, although the states are controlled by Republicans at the state level.

However, Virginia is moving the fastest, the Washington Post reported. The state Senate could vote as soon as next week. If the legislation passes, Virginia would become the third state to adopt such a system, after Nebraska and Maine.

Also, Virginia proposes to allocate its two remaining votes not to the candidate who wins the statewide popular vote, but to the candidate who wins the majority of congressional districts.

Related Topics: Electoral Votes

timothy clark

5:31 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013

There they go again, if they can't win fair and square then they always want to change their own rule's to steal an election. Enough already, take it like an adult and move on. We don't want you in office!!!

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littlelizard25

6:09 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013

If they do get this thru, hopefully it will come back and bite them in the butt. I guess if you can't win on the merits of your party platform and candidate, cheat like hell.

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Lambie

6:12 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013

What's new about this? Nebraska and Maine have done it for years. It's perfectly legal and constitutional for a state to do this.

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Lambie

6:13 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013

Also, Patch is behind on this story -- the Republican governor of Virginia has already said he won't support the move, so contrary to this outdated Patch report, the plan isn't going to happen in Virginia.

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Labonte Celestin

6:14 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013

why the republican want change the system than they change them self about the minorities life.like work to make jobs medical insurance .or thinking about pore peoples.etc.

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Dean Giles

6:21 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013

This about par for the course. At the end of the day, however; the American public will still know the difference between chicken salad and GOP chicken s...!

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Tom Mariner

6:53 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013

Sorry, but the opinion that any change in the electoral college would help the Republicans is absolutely wrong, and is obviously politically motivated.

Here's the ONLY conversation: It ain't guns, not Hillary's outburst, not the President founding a religion with him as the head during the Inaugural -- its the ECONOMY. Yeah, it is cool to intimate that a writer not only has the knowledge, but the judgement to guess the outcome of a complex state-level judgment, but it purposely ignores that fact that if we continue the way the President is spending the country is gone, bankrupt, a third rate power.

Stop the distractions -- the election is over -- its time to save the country!

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Markrose

7:54 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013

@TomMariner please don't tell me you're so naive to believe anybody at this point is here to save the economy. I'm a small business owner and I can guarantee you if it were not for Obama and had the GOP had gotten their way 100% of the time, I'd be screwed. And the saying "we're going for broke" is true, but if we budget cut the way the GOP wants too, it would be a huge burden on the middle class. On the other hand Democrats need to get realistic about spending. I see nothing wrong with removing electoral college, this is something that's been discussed for a long time now and parties claim it's unfair to remove something if it threatens there supremacy. Removing electoral will make this a 50 state race instead of a 7 state race and enable us to have a true democracy.

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R++ - One of the famous "Dacula Crew"

10:05 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013

Note we are a representative based republic...

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Tom Mariner

10:45 am on Monday, January 28, 2013

Markrose, experiences differ -- On Long Island we went from a startup to the largest in the country and going toward the largest in the world -- all under that evil George Bush, who is blamed for the economy. (Wasn't that four years ago??)

The REASON we have a 50 state race is the electoral college -- if it were just counting up votes, the 7 most populous states would get all the campaigning and money -- why campaign in Rhode Island or Wyoming when a trips to California, New York, Florida and Texas gets you most of the votes.

And R is technically right.

sickmynuts

9:49 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013

3000 plus Americans died on u.s. Soil under Republican control and 4 died in a u.s. Embassy attack and its a massive media frenzy now this voting bullshit in four states bush spent money without being accountable for 8 years now everybody wanna bitch and moan
lets face the truth palin was too stupid to be vice president ryan couldnt even win his own state and mitt romney was saying whatever sounded good to earn votes and helping small business owners lol i own four stores and if the poor and middle class dont do well then im out of business so anybody that wants too hurt the poor and middle class and keep feeding the rich will never be in office ever if i got a vote to make wake the fuck up or shut the fuck up please republicans do us all a favor and go home and kill yourself like some of you did when obama won a 2nd term

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R++ - One of the famous "Dacula Crew"

10:06 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013

Why of course we should continue down the wrong path because the other team did ...

BRILLIANT!

Wanderwmn

7:46 am on Monday, January 28, 2013

government of the politicians, by the politicians, and for the politicians...

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Joe

9:50 am on Tuesday, January 29, 2013

You nanny state fools. The government should not provide healthcare. What they should do is suffer the same layoffs and 25% uunemployment rate, work to create jobs (with wages) that enable foks to PAY THEIR BILLS, WHICH INCLUDES YOUR healthcare. Oh n quit rippin the american people off.

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