Today in electoral college

Meant last week to post John Micek's essential tick-tock on Dominic Pileggi's electoral college vote changes (which notes hearings will be held next month):

An unlikely alliance between a veteran Republican political operative and the former chief counsel for Pennsylvania's House Democrats helped give birth to a plan to replace the state's winner-take-all system with one that awards electoral votes to the winner of each of the state's 18 congressional districts. Two at-large electoral votes would go to the winner of the statewide popular vote.

The operative, Charlie Gerow of Harrisburg, and the lawyer, William Sloane of Carlisle, Cumberland County, hired lobbyists to catch the ear of key lawmakers and Gov. Tom Corbett, and named their new nonprofit All Votes Matter. Even as they worked on their plan in the spring, a senior Republican in the state Senate was developing legislation with the same goal.

Jim O'Toole talked to Gerow too on Friday.

“I still think it’s the wrong thing to do,” state GOP chair Robert Gleason tells PA Independent/Tribune Democrat.

Speaking of essentials, for your bookmarks: a group opposing the change called Keep Pa Relevant is doing a whip count on the initiative. There are already 10 "no" votes in the GOP House caucus, one short of the number that would sink it.