Dr. Jim Broussard

Why Pennsylvania Should Consider the District System of Choosing Presidential Electors

Testimony Of Dr. James H. Broussard
Department of History & Political Science
Lebanon Valley College
October 4, 2011

The most dangerous threat to the American political system today is the disgust of its citizens. More people are disgusted, frustrated, or cynical than at any time since probably the eve of the Civil War. Political scientists and opinion surveys agree that the number one reason for this dangerous alienation is that many people feel that their votes simply don't matter. The most effective way--perhaps the only way--to cure this evil is to make sure that all votes do matter.

Luke Bernstein

Testimony before the Pennsylvania Senate State Government Committee

Luke Bernstein, Deputy Chief of Staff
Office of the Governor
October 4th, 2011
Electoral College Reform: SB 1282

Chairman McIlhinney, Chairman Williams, and members of the committee:
My name is Luke Bernstein, Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Tom Corbett. On behalf of the Corbett administration, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to offer remarks before you today about Senator Pileggi’s legislation, Senate Bill 1282, which would enhance how Pennsylvania allocates its electoral votes in a Presidential election.

Dr. Charlie Greenawalt

Electoral College Reform

Testimony of Charles E. Greenawalt II, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow, The Susquehanna Valley Center for Public Policy
Pennsylvania State Senate, State Government Committee
4 October 2011

The issue of Electoral College reform has been discussed many times in many different forums. The Susquehanna Valley Center for Public Policy had written about the issue in 2000 after the Presidential election. It came as a surprise to many Americans to learn that our president is not elected by the people but by an institution called The Electoral College. Apparently, our civic and history classes simply do not do an effective job in teaching the subjects of federalism and presidential selection accurately. Many Americans believe that the people elect our president, when that idea was soundly rejected by our Founding Fathers.

Alan Novak

Testimony On Congressional District Method

By Alan P. Novak, Former Republican State Committee Chairman

Chairman McIlhinney, Chairman Williams, members of the committee.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today on the topic of how Pennsylvania allocates its Electoral College votes.

The Constitutional convention adopted the unique entity that is the Electoral College in 1787 as a compromise between large and small states. Large states wanted presidential voting based on population. Small states wanted each state to have the same number of votes. The compromise was to give each state electoral votes equal to the number of representatives and senators it has in Congress.