Virginia Repubs move ahead with Mass Disenfranchisement - (by trickery) - American Prospect

[Bill USA]

http://prospect.org/article/virginia-republicans-move-forward-mass-disenfranchisement
(emphasis my own)
This morning, I wrote on an emerging Republican plan—in swing states won by President Obama—to rig presidential elections by awarding electoral votes to the winner of the most congressional districts. Because Democratic voters tend to cluster in highly-populated urban areas, and Republican voters tend to reside in more sparsely populated regions, this makes land the key variable in elections—to win the majority of a state’s electoral votes, your voters will have to occupy the most geographic space.

In addition to disenfranchising voters in dense areas, this would end the principle of “one person, one vote.” If Ohio operated under this scheme, for example, Obama would have received just 22 percent of the electoral votes, despite winning 52 percent of the popular vote in the state.

For this reason, I didn’t expect Republicans to go forward with the plan—the risk of blowback is just too high. My skepticism, however, was misplaced. In Virginia, a local news station reports that just this afternoon, a state Senate subcommittee recommended a bill to end Virginia’s winner-take-all system and apportion its 13 electoral votes by congressional district.

Unlike similar proposals in Pennsylvania and Michigan, this one wouldn’t award the remaining electoral votes to the winner (Virginia has 11 districts). Rather, the winner of the most congressional districts would get the final two votes. If this were in effect last year, Obama would have gotten just 4 of the state’s votes, despite winning 51 percent of its voters.(more)

[catbyte]

1. How can we fight this? This scares the bejeezus out of me. I know Snyder will do in MI

if this succeeds.

[Bill USA]

3. my first thoughts are: contact your Democratic Senators and Representatives and local Democratic

party people. Start talking to people about this to see what they think can be done. It might very well require large numbers of people showing up a state legislatures to have persuasive conversations with the anti-Democracy goons. I think if people want a democracy, they have come out and show they will not allow the sabotage and overthrow of our government.

Differences of opinion over policy is one thing but when an organized group sets out to disenfranchise large numbers of people and threaten our very system of Democratic government, it seems like action must be taken.

[catbyte]

4. I am still demoralized after they so shamefully rammed through RTW & abortion laws in spite of

massive protests. They couldn't care less. They despise democracy. We are living it in MI.

[rhett o rick]

2. I hope the Democratic Party is helping Virginia Dems with this. Sounds like a law suit. nm

[catbyte]

5. What lawsuit? It is completely legal & up to each state. That's what's so despicable about it.

[rhett o rick]

7. If it denies fair representation to citizens it might be found illegal.

Courts have ruled against some of these practices in states like Texas.

[Kablooie]

6. If the Democrats are so smart and the Republicans are so stupid ...

why are the Republicans coming up with clever schemes that will eliminate Democrats from politics?