Watch CBS News

Corbett and Chester State Sentator In Favor Of Electoral Vote Changes

HARRISBURG (CBS) - Governor Corbett and a key state senator are supporting a major change to the way Pennsylvania awards its electoral votes in presidential elections.

Currently, Pennsylvania awards its electoral votes like most states: winner-take-all. However, the U.S. Constitution does not require that, and Chester Republican Dominic Pileggi, the state Senate majority leader, is proposing a new system.

In the next election, Pennsylvania will have 20 electoral votes; two plus one for each congressional district. Pileggi proposes to give two electoral votes to the winner of the statewide presidential election.Then each presidential candidate would get one electoral vote for each congressional district they win.

The top Democrat in the Senate has already blasted the proposal as a Republican power grab. Pileggi's spokesman Erik Arneson doesn't see the logic.

"There is no element of partisanship to this. It will over time inevitably cut both ways," Arneson said.

Arneson claims the idea is to have the state's electoral votes more closely reflect the popular vote.

Reported by Tony Romeo, KYW Newsradio 1060

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.