If you can't beat 'em, rig the game

Pennsylvania Senate and House Democratic Leaders Issue Joint Statement on GOP's Effort to Change the Electoral College to Benefit GOP Candidates

Harrisburg - Senator Jay Costa and Representative Frank Dermody, the leaders of the  Democratic Caucuses of the Pennsylvania Senate and House,  released the following joint statement in response to the Republican Party's renewed effort to rig the Electoral College system to benefit GOP candidates.  Under the proposal of Republican Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, Pennsylvania would abandon the current system where the winner of the Pennsylvania vote receives all 20 of the state's electoral vote, as is done in 48 other states. Instead, the GOP plan seeks to allocate the electors based on the proportional vote of each candidate, effectively negating Pennsylvania's important historic role as a swing state.

Senator Costa blasted the plan, describing it  as a "partisan scheme that diminishes the voice of Pennsylvania voters on the national stage." Costa described the  cynical nature of  the vote-rigging effort, pointing out that, "This proposal is being made in Pennsylvania because President Obama carried the state. Texas and Alabama and other states that voted Republican are not having their electors split in two. Republican Governors in Ohio and Virginia have rejected these schemes, as violating a basic sense of fairness,  but, sadly, Governor Corbett  has failed to categorically reject this assault on fair elections."

Representative Dermody said that, to appeal to Pennsylvania voters,  the  Republican Party should alter its extreme views, rather than the rules of elections. "Although Republicans are couching their proposals in language of fairness," Dermody said, " the motivation for changing the Electoral College is purely partisan. The Republican Party lost in 2012 because they failed to appeal to the majority of voters in Pennsylvania. They know they can't win on the issues, so they're resorting to underhanded tactics and undermining the principal that the candidate who obtains a majority of the votes should prevail." Highlighting the absurdity of the GOP's position that the electoral vote be equally distributed, Mr. Dermody pointed out that, "Nearly half the voters in the state voted for Mr. Corbett's opponent, but no one suggested that the Governor's term be split in half. The GOP plan is not about fair elections, it is about rigging the game and diminishing Pennsylvania's influence over who becomes our next President."

Both Senator Costa and Representative Dermody urged Governor Corbett to immediately  voice his opposition to this partisan plan, and, instead, work in a bi-partisan manner to address the important issues facing Pennsylvania, such as the need to address our neglected transportation infrastructure and to improve our educational system throughout the state. "Who can blame our citizens for viewing the Republican Party in this state with such contempt," said Senator Costa, noting that, "This isn't the first time we've seen Republicans try to rig the election in their favor. In 2012, the Republican Party led a coordinated campaign to disenfranchise millions of voters through burdensome voter ID laws that one  Republican leader said would help Mitt Romney win Pennsylvania. This latest Republican effort to change the Electoral College in Pennsylvania is more of the same - if you can't win elections  fair and square, rig the game."