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Republicans lost in 2012 because they failed to appeal to a majority of voters—but it's clear they didn't learn their lesson. Instead of working to appeal to the changing, growing electorate, Republicans are now trying to rig the game by changing the Electoral College.

Several states have already considered—and rejected—a similar plan: Republicans in Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Florida have all come out against rigging the Electoral College. But that hasn't stopped Pennsylvania's Senate majority leader, Republican Dominic Pileggi, from introducing legislation to do just that.

The Pennsylvania Republican plan would award electoral votes proportionally. Consider this: If a plan like this had been in place in 2012, President Obama would have received 12 of Pennsylvania's Electoral College votes, and Mitt Romney would have received eight—even though he lost the popular vote by more than 300,000 votes. This is a plan that would diminish Pennsylvania's importance in future elections and its historical role as a key swing state—and more important, it would disempower hundreds of thousands of voters.

Democrats are fighting back and calling on Gov. Tom Corbett to come out publicly against the electoral-rigging scheme. Former Gov. Ed Rendell sent an email to Democrats in his home state earlier today with his take on "a bad idea that will hurt every Pennsylvanian, Democrat and Republican alike"—and why every Democrat needs to make their opposition heard:

Friend --

Right now, Republicans in our state are trying to diminish Pennsylvania's importance in future presidential elections -- meaning that the issues that are important to you and me will get less attention at the national level. They know they can't win our state on the issues, so they're resorting to underhanded tactics and undermining the influence of our voters.

Their plan would change the way Pennsylvania allocates its Electoral College votes -- splitting our votes between the winner and the loser, rather than the traditional winner-take-all approach we've used for centuries. It would end our historical role as a critical electoral state, and create a detour around Pennsylvania on the road to the White House.

In short, it's a bad idea that will hurt every Pennsylvanian, Democrat and Republican alike. And it's up to us to do everything we can to stop it.

Call Governor Tom Corbett's office right now at (717) 787-2500 and politely let him know you oppose this plan because it's neither fair nor the right thing for Pennsylvania.

After your call, let us know how it went.

Look, it doesn't take a genius to figure out why Republicans are trying to pull this trick in Pennsylvania: They haven't carried our state in a presidential election since 1988. They haven't been able to beat us, so now they're trying to rig the game.

This isn't the first time we've seen Pennsylvania Republicans try to rig the election in their favor. In 2012, they tried to change the rules by passing burdensome voter ID laws that would have had the effect of disenfranchising thousands of Pennsylvanians. We fought those laws in the courts, and won.

Now let's join together again and make sure this latest scheme doesn't fly.

Call Governor Corbett at (717) 787-2500, and tell him to stop this bill. Then, click below to report your call:

http://my.democrats.org/PA-Call-Report-Back

Let's do this,

Ed

Governor Ed Rendell

P.S. -- I can tell you from my experience as Governor: these calls make a difference. Call right now and tell him you oppose this bill.