The GOP scheme to rig the electoral vote loses momentum

last updated 11 January 2015

Republican legislators in several states have begun to push changes to the way their states allocate electoral college votes.

These states — which include Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia — have one thing in common: They all voted for President Obama in last year's presidential election but are controlled by Republican governors and legislators.

Molly Ball reports that these efforts "appear to have sprouted independently as the work of individual lawmakers." But now, a Republican operative "has a plan to take the idea national."

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GOP strategist Jordan Gehrke has teamed up with former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R) to "raise money for an effort to propose similar electoral reforms in states across the country."

The Washington Post notes Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus even voiced support for the effort, saying it is something that "a lot of states that have been consistently blue that are fully controlled red ought to be looking at."

But while support for the move seems to be growing nationally, several Republican lawmakers in key states are balking at the idea.

In Virginia, Sen. Ralph Smith (R) told the Roanoke Times he opposed efforts to change the way Virginia allocates electoral votes, calling it "a bad idea." The bill likely cannot get to a vote without Smith's support.

And in Florida, House Speaker Will Weatherford (R) told the Miami Herald, "To me, that's like saying in a football game, 'We should have only three quarters, because we were winning after three quarters and the beat us in the fourth. I don't think we need to change the rules of the game, I think we need to get better." Without Weatherford's support, the proposal is essentially dead there as well.

It remains to be seen what will happen in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, but it's clear not all Republicans are sold on the idea.

Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political websites. He also runs Wonk Wire and the Political Dictionary. Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and COO of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. senator and governor. Goddard is also co-author of You Won â€” Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Christian Science Monitor. Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.