Pileggi dismisses congressmen's ‘localized political concerns’
By Caleb Taylor | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — State Republicans and Gov. Tom Corbett support a proposal to change how Pennsylvania elects presidents, but congressional Republicans worry it might hurt their re-election chances in 2012.
The plan gives more value to voters in rural and suburban parts of the state, while reducing the prominence of Philadelphia — a Democratic stronghold.
It awards electoral votes in presidential elections based on the resulting popular vote in each of the state’s 18 congressional districts. The presidential candidate who wins the state’s popular vote would not receive all electoral votes in the original “winner-take-all approach.”
Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes comprise the 18 congressional districts and two senatorial seats. Under the proposal, the candidate with the highest number of districts would receive the two additional votes.
Several Republican congressmen, particularly those in suburban swing districts, have been less than enthusiastic about the idea.
U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach, R-District 6, said in an email that the “Pennsylvania Republican congressional delegation continues evaluating this proposal” but wanted to avoid risking the “future of our hard-fought and hard-won congressional districts."
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Chester, who first proposed the change to more closely conform the electoral vote to the popular vote, dismissed the concerns of some congressmen over how the changes might hurt their chances for re-election in 2012.
“I’ve heard from some concerned members of congress about what the impact of this bill might be in their particular congressional district,” Pileggi said. “They’re localized political concerns. They don’t at all conflict with my objective.”
Terry Madonna, a pollster and professor of political science at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, said the change could give Democrats a greater incentive to challenge Republicans in competitive swing districts.
“The plan puts competitive districts in play that are held by Republicans from the 2010 elections,” said Madonna. “Members of the Republican (congressional delegation) don’t want extra Democratic funds pumped into their districts in order to try to pick up a congressional seat and an electoral vote.”
Districts most at-risk would be in the Philadelphia suburbs where first-term Republican U.S. Reps. Michael Fitzpatrick, of District 8, and Pat Meehan, of District 7, picked up seats in 2010.
The GOP may have a hard time holding those seats in 2012, because the districts are not expected to have large Republican majorities after this year’s redistricting process.
Also, if the distribution of the electoral votes changes, Democrats likely will dump more money and resources into the suburban districts, since there will be less of an emphasis on high vote totals in Philadelphia, Madonna said.
First-term Republican U.S. Reps. Lou Barletta, of the 11th Congressional District, and Tom Marino, of District 10 in the northeast, and Mike Kelly, of District 3 in the northwest, also could be targeted for the same reasons.
None of Pennsylvania’s U.S. House representatives support of the change, and several have publicly expressed concerns. Corbett met with congressional Republicans Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
“My initial reaction is to question this proposal, but I would like to hear more about it,” Meehan said.
Democrats here Tuesday said the plan was motivated by Republicans who want to assure their presidential candidate wins electoral votes in a state that they have not won since 1988.
“It should go without saying that the politics of elections should be reserved for campaigns, not for the mechanics of how elections are conducted,” said Tim Potts, co-founder of Democracy Rising PA, a nonpartisan organization working for integrity and transparency in government.
Others said changing the distribution of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes would reduce the state’s “clout” nationally.
“We’re not even a state anymore if this passes in terms of presidential politics, said state Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery. “We are 18 Wyomings. We are 18 individual states with no clout.”
Eric Epstein, coordinator for Rock the Capital, a nonpartisan voter education organization, said the electoral proposal would give Pennsylvania “the political punching power of Guam.”
Wyoming has three electoral votes. Guam has no electoral votes since it is a territory of the United States.
Nebraska and Maine are the only two states that allocate electoral votes by congressional districts.
While Pennsylvania Republicans consider the move, Nebraskan Republicans have proposed changing Nebraska’s electoral vote allocation back to “winner-take-all."
Of Pennsylvania’s 19 House of Representative seats, 12 are held by Republicans and seven are held by Democrats, but the total will be reduced by one in this year’s redistricting process. Republicans control the process and will look to eliminate one of the Democratic-held seats.
