We've talked a bit recently about Republican efforts in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio to change the way their states' electoral votes are allocated in presidential elections -- from winner-take-all contests to district-by-district races. Rachel explained on last night's show how Republicans "are talking about crossing a Rubicon that has never been crossed before."
But when you're talking to your angry uncle who watches Fox News, and he demands to know why the GOP scheme is, on its face, offensive, you might recommend this thoughtful explanation from Yale constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar.
Prof. Akhil Reed Amar '84 on Controversial Election Changes in Pennsylvania from Yale Law School on Vimeo.
Of particular interest, Amar explains why these new proposed schemes are different from Maine and Nebraska, which already allocate on a district-based system, and explain why partisan abuses through gerrymandered districts makes the idea so outrageous.