Poll finds most Pa. voters against changing electoral vote distribution

    A new poll shows more than half of Pennsylvania voters are not on board with a proposal to split the state’s Electoral College votes in the 2012 presidential election.

    Voters in the Keystone State surveyed by Quinnipiac University are against the Republican plan to change the way the state awards its electoral votes by a margin of 52 percent to 40 percent.

    GOP voters aren’t sold on the idea, according to Tim Malloy, assistant director of the school’s polling institute.

    “Even with Republicans, it was almost a toss-up on whether it’s a good idea to reject or stick with the current formula,” Malloy said. “So Pennsylvania has spoken, they want to stay with the winner-take-all.

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    Under a winner-take-all system in 2012, Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes would go to the presidential candidate who wins the statewide popular vote.

    If the state Senate plan is enacted, those votes would be doled out based on the winner of each congressional district.

    Poll results on whether the plan is politically motivated fall along party lines; most Republicans say it will more fairly represent individual voters and Democrats say it is unfair.

    The Quinnipiac poll also shows Pennsylvania voters disapprove, 54 percent to 43 percent, of the job President Obama is doing. Fifty-one percent say the president should not be re-elected.

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