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Subscribe to RSSA spokesman for Republican Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell says the governor opposes the GOP legislation that would award the state's electoral votes in presidential elections by congressional district -- instead of the current winner-take-all system.
Related: GOP looks to change the rules, not their party
"The governor does not support this legislation. He believes Virginia's existing system works just fine as it is. He does not believe there is any need for a change," said spokesman Tucker Martin.
This opposition by McDonnell essentially kills the chances that the Electoral College change would become law in the state. In addition, another Republican state senator in Virginia today said he also was against the change.
The way we elect the president is being challenged in key states by Republicans who want to award electoral votes by congressional district instead of a winner-take-all to the candidate who carries the state. Had this process been in place during the 2012 election, Mitt Romney would have won. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
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Isn't this the same thing the Democrats did in Nebraska in 2008?? ...funny, I don't recall any democrats complaining about that move when Obama took some of Nebraska's electoral votes (first time a dem got votes there since 1964). ......Hypocrites, liars, and cowards.....the face of the new Democratic Party!
The 2008 United States presidential election in Nebraska took place on November 4, 2008 as part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 5 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for President and Vice President. However, this state is one of the two states of the U.S. that, instead of giving all of its electors to the winner based on its statewide results, just 2 of them vote based on the statewide results, and the others vote based on their individual congressional district results.
Nebraska, statewide, was not a swing state in 2008. Located in the Great Plains of the United States, it is one of the most staunchly Republican states in the country. While some hypothetical general election match-up polls between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama showed the race to be seemingly close, they were largely regarded as outliers as more polls released showed McCain leading in double digits. McCain wound up carrying the popular vote in Nebraska by 14.93 points, taking in 56.53% of the total statewide vote. However, Obama narrowly defeated McCain in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, which contains Omahaand the surrounding areas. Due to Nebraska's system of proportionally allocating electoral votes, Obama was able to win one electoral vote while John McCain received the state's other four electoral votes.
Two to one: If the bill winds up on his desk, McDonnell will sign it into law and claim it is the people's will.
I have to agree with you. He has not said that he would Veto the bill. He is just stating his feelings about it but he will sign the bill otherwise he would of mentioned what he would do. He is just trying to take some heat off of it. People will think it has been stopped but it has not. The legislators would of stopped the bill if they knew he would not sign it. They know what the Governor is going to do. They do communicate with each other. BUT if he does, I think it will start the biggest firestorm this country has ever seen since the Civil War. Mark my words. I almost hope they do pass such a corrupt bill because it will be easy to show who the real GOP is.
I think the Republican party is so desperate they will say and do anything to beg, borrow or steal the next presidential election. If they can't win by traditional laws - change them. If you don't like Congress - change it. They don't think President Obama obeys the Constitution - what about their behavior, changing it is okay as long as you are a Republican? What they really need to do is live in this century, treat women with respect and stay out of their personal lives and decisions, keep laws on the books - don't remove what women have worked so hard to have over these years and give them equal pay. Treat all families equally and respect everyone. Respect hard working families in this country more than their old, white, rich cronies. I would also add - respect the voting American public - respect what their vote means and the change they voted for - not that of the rich lobbyists in Washington.
i'm unsure the change would be a good idea, but the states have always had the right to split their electoral votes. ----- however, unless all states participate in this change, i don't think it's a very good idea. ------- however, as an unaffiliated voter, i believe it might make it more feasible for a 3rd party candidate to have at least a small chance.
on the other hand, it's very frustrating to live in one of the lop-sided states, knowing that my vote is meaningless. ----- with a split electoral vote, at least you feel like maybe your vote has some meaning.
Wonder what happened to elected officials placing their votes in Congress that helps the District that elected them? Wind power is getting big business in my district with many job openings. While we have our republican elected by us voters. Voting against the tax incensive of the Wind Power Industry. While supporting the gas and oil industry tax incensive. Like a true wimp, he allows the republican leaders tells him how to vote, while it cripples his own district.
don't know what state you are from, but north dakota is doing plenty with wind power, mostly through an electrical cooperative, without the tax incentive.
Why not just rewrite the rules to make the person with the least votes the winner?
SCOTUS will crush this crap before it ever gets off the ground
no they won't ---- any state has the right to split its electoral votes --- in fact, 2 states already do that. ----- what i find intriguing is that looking at the comments, democrats are against virginia doing this, but virginia is a red state ---- so.... if virginia splits its electoral votes, that's a net gain for democrats, not republicans.
oops ---- i was looking at the wrong breakdown ---- it would be a net gain for republicans if virginia splits its electoral votes. -------------------------- however, here's a statistical question for you....... which breakdown for electoral votes more accurately reflects the will of the people ???
Actually, there is no need to even have an electorial vote anymore. Democracy = one voice, one vote! But its not about the will of the people anymore ... its about the will of the wealthiest few! Isn't it, Republicans?
The integrity of the Republican party continues to deteriorate & fracture ... still determined to "lie,cheat and steal" in jamming their unpopular agenda down the throats of the US citizens. What Republican voters refuse to see is that this party places no value on regular people. Their dishonesty & deceitfulness is becoming their trademark. They wish to take the one precious right every citizen should be entitled, and minimize/suppress it. Whether this party is successful or not at completing their new strategy, maybe they should just change their name to the ReThuglican Party and be done with it.
that's funny ---- as someone who has been an unaffiliated voter all his life, i could say the same about the democrat party. ------ i find it very intriguing when someone believes the excrement of his party smells any better than that of the other party. ------- from my perspective, both parties suck.
and considering that the democrats outspent the republicans in the last two elections, i find it a bit hypocritical that you use the phrase " will of the wealthiest", especially when most of the wealthiest congressmen are democrats also.
The electoral collage is a throwback to the time when it took weeks or months to collect the votes from around the country. It is outdated in this day of instant communication. The idea of one person one vote is being hijacked by the continuing of this non representative system and it should be retired with the other once useful, now archaic items we no longer need. Popular vote is what our country was built on and this system is another tool to control our government to the detriment of the citizens.
The Senate and the Electoral College both serve the effect of decreasing the impact of population and the popular vote. There are states with small enough populations to be guaranteed only one seat/vote in the House, yet these same states with small populations each get two seats/votes in the Senate, potentially skewing power away from a Texas or a California and towards a North Dakota or a Rhode Island. Similarly, the Electoral College composition was to be determined by each state, a further concentration of power with the powerful similar to the election of U.S. senators prior to the Constitutional Amendment calling for direct election. Those losing the battle of demographics are becoming increasingly anti-democratic. Rather than acknowledge and adapt to change, the GOP/T is attempting to -- using another word with some conservative resonance -- nullify it. Nullification may have had transitory success in the past, but its earlier practitioners can offer lessons to the ones of the present.
The proposal to change the Electoral College system is an alarming threat to American democracy. It would lead to gerrymandering on steroids and would place the election of a President on the same basis as the House of Representatives. (In case you haven't noticed, the House has been responsible for so much of the gridlock on Capitol Hill.) The last thing this country needs is a President the majority of voters can't endorse.
If you can't buy the White House then steal it!!!!
The great Republican plan to rig the election. Amazing how all the cock roaches scattered once the lights were turned on. I think the plan is all but dead except for Michigan.
Rig the elections you mean like Acorn?
sneak attack. never, ever trust the republicans.
I've heard such talk from Rep. Governors before . THEY LIE . Watch him very carefully . Snyder did the same kind of thing in Michigan . Just Look at the the " Right to work Law. " Snyder repeatedly said it was to divisive to pass . Then rammed it through at the last minute in a lame duck session . They are all liars and will sneak or cram their ultra conservative agenda in at all cost . Don't trust him . Don't trust conservatives . They all have one aim , Power .
I suppose the Liberals don't want POWER.
Fool!
The liberals are not the ones who are lying about their intent or trying to change the system to insure their success . I repeat . The conservatives are desperate and will stop at nothing to retain their fading power . DON'T TRUST THEM .
I agree the Electoral college has outlived its usefulness. However, I believe the way this should be changed is through Constitutional amendment.
The Senate was formerly elected by State Legislatures. The 17th Amendment, providing for the direct popular vote of the Senate, took away much of the State Legislature influence over the Federal Government and certainly shifted the "balance of power" toward Washington and a national "urban majority."
Curiously, Republican gerrymandering (and to a lesser extent Democratic gerrymandering), coupled with this Republican strategy to elect the President and Vice President by an Electoral College vote based on a congressional district majority, rather than the cumulative electoral votes of a State being cast on a winner take all basis, would seem to be a strange way of shifting lost power back to State Legilatures, who would basically be able to elect the President and Vice President by drawing Congressional District lines favorable to the Party in power.
So, in a way, the Republican strategy is a tactic to circumvent the 17th Amendment and return political power to the demographic divisions of the late 18th century, when the country's economy was still based on agriculture and the majority of the population rural.
Not ALL Republicans favor this course, as witnessed by this article, but the Party is increasingly directed by those who wish to return to a pre-progressive era of a rural America.
Smart enough to see past the instant gratification of winning one election. If the changes happen it will be twice as funny to see republicans look surprised as another election blows up in their collective faces. Democrats will share the same fate if they are short sighted on this issue as well.
Lie, cheat, and steal, trash the constitution, just do anything that will satisfy your lust for power and greed. Total domination is the driving force of today's Republican party. At least there are a very few Republicans that are left and also waking up, such as Jindal, Barbar, and a few others. I doubt they will last long in the Crapola that the GOP has become. And to think, this was the party that my parents brought me up believing in. How sad they would be to see thier once proud party thought of as the most despicable party on earth. I left the republican party several years ago when they went to the negative campgain route. This repugnant party today is by far worse that it ever was back then. I am very proud to call myself a fierce and educated INDEPENDENT.
right..... i'm supposed to believe the democrats have zero ambition for power ---- give me a break.
Democrats have ambition for power . The difference is they are willing to work in the present system and not try to usurp the will of the people to obtain and retain their power . Selling their ideas and philosophy is the way to power , not a Republican coup .
whatever, mike ----- i'm certain you will find a way to justify anything your party does.
I will not justify a descent into tyranny no matter which party instigates it . As I can see the Republicans want to win at all cost . Democracy be damned . The way to win an election is to sell your ideas to the public and win a majority . If you can't do that and try to win by deceitful means you earn my eternal damnation and ridicule . If you advocate the end of democracy you are a traitor to the US and our Constitution . There is no justification for usurpation of the Presidency , however it seems it's the only way the Reps can win , and they know it . Hence their actions .
that would be fine if we were indeed, a democracy ---- we are a representative republic. ------ the democrats have already pushed thru legislation in the last 4 years, using bribery of their own senators, and other interesting, barely legal methods. ---- because of that, i find it intriguing that you only point out the methods used by the republicans, but not of your own party. ---- it seems to me you have brainwashed yourself into believing that everything your party does is ultimately beneficial to everyone, and that is not the case. ----- and then you wonder why unaffiliated voters such as myself don't like the democrats any more than we like the republicans. ------- it's only a matter of time, mike, when non-party people like myself will be the majority, and then the pendulum will swing against you.
Unaffiliated voters mostly are not like you . I have no party registration . I just see the Reps acting like little Hitlers . There would be no need for them to act that way if they had a salable platform . That's democracy ,not changing the rules to benefit one party over another and to subvert the will of the majority . As for the Ron Paul splinter group . Good luck . All you will is keep the democrats in power .
I live in a state (Nebraska) where Electoral College votes are decided by district. Nebraska traditionally is a totally red state. Well, in 2008, President Obama won the Second District (Douglas County, including Omaha).
The Nebraska Teapublicans had threw the biggest hissy fit since Creation. First, they gerrymandered the Second District to give the Teapublicans the edge. Then they lobbied to have our system changed to winner-takes-all. They succeeded in the first instance, but not in the second.
Teapublicans can't win fair and square, so they cheat. What do you think all that voter fraud baloney was about? Or voter ID? Not only do they have contempt for the American people, they also have contempt for the American system of governing. Whiners and cheaters is what they are.
Unless and until the Teapublicans move away from the RWNJs they will continue to lose, and deservedly so.
Voter fraud you mean like Acorn?
No , like the Pa senator that declared the new voter ID law would insure the state for Roms.
There is a strong anti-democratic element in the Republican Party. If they loose an election, their first impulse is the fix the next election in their favor. Shame.
where were you when nebraska changed their electoral setup ??? ---- seems to me the democrats benefited from that.
As an ex-long-term Republican who would really like to see their return to conscientiously representing the people with moderate and realistic conservative policies, the reality that they have completely sold out to "the money", with their total focus being on serving them for the power, influence and money that they see as providing the best way to achieve their political ambitions, I have become completely allienated and disgusted. This example where they now give no thought to turning their act around to provide better representation for the majority and instead, in states where it provides them benefit, seek to first have redistricting to suppress Democratic majorities and then to have electorial votes allocated by district, instead of winner take all, shows their aggressive concentration on gamesmanship versus honest and concerned representation for the people. Their whole current philosophy is obviously consistent with everything they say and do being focused on conning the people and manipulating public opinion without any real concern to benefit the people ... with their words being deceptive and their actions being crystal clear.
and of course, we all know that democrats have zero ambition....
as an unaffiliated voter, i find it fascinating how a member from one party can say things about the other party, seemingly blind to the fact that by doing so, they are demonstrating their own desires for power and dominance, a desire to do everything their way, with zero consideration for the beliefs of others.
@ ronpal ... now THAT'S funny; tell me you're not a TeaBagger, ronPAUL? All you do is go from one poster to another making your sarcastic, conservative statements ( usually in pairs, as this is your style ) then move on to the next liberal posting. Give us all a break here and go back to Fox, they're missing their village idiot.
i guess you didn't learn how to read or spell in school ---- my actual name is ronpal, not ron paul. ----------------- and guess what, if you don't agree with what i have to say, you are perfectly welcome to do so ---- ain't it great we live in a country where everyone can express their opinions ???
oh that's right ----- in YOUR world, a person only has that freedom if the person agrees with you. ------ and of course, since YOU have nothing interesting to lend to the conversation, all you are capable of is calling people names. ----------------------------- fyi, the main reasons i do short comments are.... it's easier for myself and others to read than a long message, and 2, i am at work when i am online, and i don't have the time to type in a long message.
Another conservative who feels it is right to steal his employers time and recite conservative drivel online . Way to go ronpal . Hope your boss doesn't read this post .
i am the boss. ------ and fyi, when my employees aren't waiting on customers, they are allowed to be online, or do whatever else interests them. ----- one lady knits in her spare time, and then sells what she makes here in my store.
It's really unfair to make the republicans get more votes than the democrats.
How would you like it if you were a republican and the democrats were asking you to win an election by getting more people to vote for you? This is really unfair.
Over our 200+ years of history, the trend has been toward a greater reliance on the popular vote and the concept of one person = one vote.
If successful, which I seriously doubt it will be, this would reverse that trend. Consequently, outside of a few State Legislatures, this will probably only promote the scrapping of the Electoral College itself, and moving to the election of the President And Vice President by the nationwide accumulation of the popular vote.
The Republican extremist's march toward self-destruction continues.
as someone who doesn't like either party, it seems to me that going to straight popular vote makes it a lot more feasible for a non-party candidate to have a chance ---- as things stand, candidates who don't like either the republicans or the democrats have zero chance of winning.
Depends on other factors. Simply going to a direct popular vote, doesn't necessarily change the "winner take all" system and "proportional representation" as in a parlimentry system, would virtually eliminate the concept of separate "sovereign states."
IMO, what has kept us basically a two-party system is the wisdom of the two major parties to "compromise" on their platforms, IF they sense a third party is gaining momentum.
Currently, the Republican Party does not seem to have that flexibility, so I could see the Party splitting along southern social conservatism and western libertarianism. At the moment, the attempt to bridge differences makes for strange bedfellows and probably just cannot be sustained. People like Limbaugh will say that 3 million Republican conservatives stayed home and refused to vote for Romney because of his lack of ideological purity.
If they continue to think that way, I would predict there will not be another Republican national office victory for a generation at least. The system is based on compromise, with a majority inhabiting pretty much the "mainstream middle." If you c annot appeal to that "middle," other than a few gerrymandered congressional districts, I doubt Republicans can win many more Senate seats, much less the Presidency.
i disagree with limbaugh ----- the reason some republicans, and some unaffiliated voters, did not vote for romney was because they are anti-mormon. ----- i witnessed a similar effect when jfk was running, except that in his case, he had sufficient overall popularity to overcome that religious bias...... that, and i suspect that catholics represent a larger voting block than do mormons.
Maybe...I would contribute it to American pragmatism. Most are non-ideological, in that they don't pay much attention to political arguments one way or the other. They vote their "pocketbooks." Democrats said the poor economy was Bush's fault, but it was getting better, under Obama. Romney offered little different from Bush.
If the Democrats had said "we fixed everything." They would not have been believed. But, they didn't say that...they said, "it's moving in the right direction and we deserve four more years."
That, plus Romney had to move to the far right to get the nomination, flip flopping on past stands. Then, After securing the nomination, he had to flip-flop back to the middle to capture independents...time was too short and BOTH Benghazi and Sandy were distractions from Romney strategy, which didn't really help him, but took up campaign time and focus.
Actually, I am surprised he did as well as he did.
i also was surprised ---- he actually garnered more votes than did mccain ---- the other surprise for me was when obama garnered fewer votes, even in california. ---- also interesting about california was that the percentage of unaffiliated voters changed from 19% to over 22%. -------------- but again, like i said, i was also dismayed at how many people i heard talking about romney's being mormon. ---- i would have hoped this country has moved beyond religious bias, but i guess not.
We'll see if they follow through on the this. Repubs have been pulling a slow motion Seven Days in May movie similar plot of attempted taking over the government for several years, first great conspiracy movie with those liberals starring - Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. Response plan - libs buy property in red districts and building housing, move in dems like pushed integration that Lincoln probably would have pushed if not assassinated.
The G.O.P. has desperately tried voter suppression tactics during presidential elections, and is now trying to undermine the will of the people in battleground states by attempting to manipulate their states' Electoral College voting systems. When is the voter suppression nonsense going to stop??? If your party's candidate is NOT winning elections it's because the American people voted for your party's opponent...Quit wasting the time of the VA legislators who have much more important matters to deal with for the great people of the Commonwealth of Virginia!!!
ben ----- where were you when nebraska split up their electoral votes ??? ----- in case you forgot, the democrats benefited from that.
Nebraska was and still is under Rep control . Seems their little plan backfired on them . They and you have no one to blame but yourselves .
well, seeing as how i am not a republican, it didn't backfire on me. ----- however, from an objective point of view, i would agree with you ---- i don't understand why they divided up their electoral votes.
ok ----- now i know why that happened in nebraska ---- that bill was introduced by a democrat, and originally had bipartisan support, but at the end, the republicans changed their mind, but the bill passed anyway.