National Popular Vote Spokesman Tom Golisano Kicks Off PA Legislative Effort to Change How We Elect the President

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The national spokesman in the drive to ensure that the Presidency goes to the top vote getter in all 50 states came to Harrisburg today to officially kick off the campaign effort in Pennsylvania.

"Seven states already have passed the necessary legislation," said entrepreneur and philanthropist Tom Golisano. "I am optimistic that with a lot of hard work and the kind of bipartisan support we are already seeing here that Pennsylvania can be the eighth state."

Legislation is being introduced by a bipartisan group led by state Rep. Tom Creighton, R-Lancaster, and Mark Cohen, D-Philadelphia.

The bill, identical to those introduced in other states as part of the National Popular Vote Campaign, would create an interstate compact to establish new rules for how Electoral College votes are cast.  Under the U.S. Constitution, the state legislatures make the rules for how the Electoral College works.  Most have used a state "winner take all" approach which can result in a candidate winning all the electoral votes in a given state even if he or she only won that state by a single vote.  Thus, in one of every 14 elections, the candidate who did not receive the most popular votes nationwide ended up being elected President.  In non-landslide Presidential elections, that has happened in one of six elections.

In 2000, the candidate who received the most popular votes was not seated as President.  In 2004, a difference in just how 60,000 votes were cast in Ohio would have repeated the flaw.

"Since 1962, we have lived under the concept of 'one person, one vote' in virtually every aspect of political life except the most important; the election of the President of the United States," Golisano said.  "With this bipartisan legislation, we can remedy that."

Cohen, Democratic chair of the House Human Services Committee and prime sponsor of similar legislation in two previous sessions of the General Assembly, said, "I'm pleased to see people beginning to line up behind this campaign, and I am thrilled to have strong new advocacy at the national level."

The National Popular Vote campaign will work during the coming months to garner grassroots support for the legislation, while educating people across the Commonwealth about the plan.  To learn more, please visit www.nationalpopularvote.com, follow along on Twitter at @natpopvotepa, or find more on Facebook under National Popular Vote Pennsylvania.

ABOUT TOM GOLISANO

Tom Golisano is a noted American entrepreneur and philanthropist.  He is the founder and chairman of Paychex, the second largest payroll processor in the United States.  He founded the B. Thomas Golisano Foundation in 1985, which has donated tens of millions of dollars to charitable causes.  He recently sold the Buffalo Sabres.

SOURCE National Popular Vote