Friday, September 16, 2011

Pennsylvania GOP's Nebraska-Maine proposal

That would make re-election much, much more difficult for President Obama. - David Freddoso/Washington Examiner

You win a state, you get all of its electoral votes -- right? That's how it works in most states, but there are two exceptions. In Maine and Nebraska, candidates can split the electoral votes. Candidates are awarded two for winning the state, and one more for each Congressional District they carry. Barack Obama, for example, won one electoral vote from Nebraska in 2008 by carrying the Omaha-based 2nd District....

(O)verall, such a system seems very harmful to Democrats -- perhaps because of racial gerrymandering inspired by provisions of the Voting Rights Act. If every state had used the Maine-Nebraska system in the 2000 election, then George W. Bush would have won with 299 electoral votes instead of 271, despite losing the popular vote. If they had used it in the 2004 election, he would have won with 317 EVs, instead of 286. If this had been in place in 2008, Obama would have won just 296 electoral votes, instead of the 365 he actually got.