Pennsylvania, Nebraska Republicans Seek Changes To Electoral College System

Republican leaders in both Pennsylvania and Nebraska are considering plans to change the way their states allocate Electoral College votes. Both moves could have a significant impact on the 2012 Presidential election.

The Electoral College is the body that actually elects the U.S. President. Each state chooses electors to cast the state's vote, and generally, the winner of the Electoral College vote is the same candidate most Americans voted for directly, but that is not always the case.

In the 2000 Presidential election, for example, Al Gore won the popular national vote, but George W. Bush won the Electoral College vote and became President.

Pennsylvania's plan, which is backed by the state's Republican governor, would replace the state's current winner take all system with a setup that allocates electoral votes by Congressional district. Nebraska Republicans want to go in the opposite direction and replace the state's current proportional allocation of electoral votes with a winner take all system.