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GUEST: Xandra Kayden, Senior Fellow at the UCLA School of Public Policy, on the National Board of the League of Women Voters

A newly formed group called Californians for Equal Representation, has submitted a ballot initiative to change the current statewide winner-take-all electoral college system. The group would like to see a formula based on congressional districts instead. The initiative is aimed of course at the 2008 Presidential elections, and not surprisingly, is led by Republican strategists. California is a traditionally Democratic state, especially where Presidential elections are concerned. The winner of the presidential election in California historically gets all of the state’s 55 votes. Now with this initiative Republicans want to apportion electoral votes by congressional districts. This could lead to Republicans winning as many as 22 electoral votes in California even if a Democrat wins the majority in the state.