PA League of Women Voters Endorses National Popular Vote

Interstate Compact would ensure that every vote counts in Presidential Election

HARRISBURG, Pa., June 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The League of Women Voters of PA (LWV-PA) has overwhelmingly endorsed the National Popular Vote initiative.  The effort, designed to ensure that the winner of the Presidential election is the candidate receiving the most votes nationwide, is currently being considered by the PA General Assembly.  Seven states and the District of Columbia have already passed the measure, and similar legislative efforts are underway in 41 other states across the nation.  The vote took place on June 4th at LWV-PA's annual conference in suburban Philadelphia.

League of Women Voters of PA President Olivia Thorne said discussion over the National Popular Vote was quite lively with advocates on both sides of the issue engaged in debate on the matter.  But when it came time for a vote, the more than 70 convention delegates present overwhelmingly supported the effort.  "The strong support that National Popular Vote received from our members tells us that this is an idea whose time has come, and we urge all Pennsylvanians to join with us in encouraging our state legislators to adopt the measure," said Thorne.

National Popular Vote is a bipartisan effort to change the way Electoral College votes are awarded in the presidential election. As the Electoral College operates now, the candidate receiving the most votes nationwide could lose the election if an opponent has received the required majority of 270 electoral votes. This disparity has occurred four times in our nation's history, with the 2000 Bush-Gore election the most recent. 

The current format has allowed presidential campaigns to focus on a few battleground states while the vast majority of the nation is ignored.  National Popular Vote would make every vote in every state equally important, requiring candidates to campaign across the entire nation, rather than just in battleground states.

The effort to adopt National Popular Vote in Pennsylvania is already underway; with House Bill 1270 already introduced by state Reps. Tom Creighton, R-Lancaster, and Mark Cohen, D-Philadelphia as primary sponsors.  Nearly three dozen other state house members of both parties have signed on as cosponsors.  Similar legislative efforts are underway in the state Senate, where Senator Richard Alloway, R-Chambersburg, has introduced a Senate version (SB1116).

SOURCE League of Women Voters of PA