Gov. Schwarzenegger Opposes Electoral College Change

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

CAPITOL REPORTS

SACRAMENTO, Sept. 5, 2007 (KABC-TV) (KABC) -- In a wide-ranging interview with Eyewitness News, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger tackled a long list of current issues -- the heat wave, energy shortage, presidential race, the war in Iraq, and health care.

California Republicans are spear-heading a ballot initiative that would change how the state awards its 55 electoral votes. Instead of "winner takes all" in a presidential contest, each congressional district would get one electoral vote, with the statewide winner getting a couple more.

Governor Schwarzenegger admits he hasn't read the proposal, but he likes the system the way it is.

"I feel like, if you're all of a sudden in the middle of the game start changing the rules, it's kind of odd," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, R-California. "It almost feels like a loser's mentality, saying, 'I cannot win with those rules. So let me change the rules.'"

Regarding the Iraq resolution from the state Senate calling for President Bush to begin immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops, the governor hasn't decided yet whether to put it on the ballot for Californians to vote on. But he hinted he's leaning towards vetoing it.

"Every poll you look at shows that the majority of Californians are against the war. So that message is out there," said Gov. Schwarzenegger. "Second of all, the ones that make the decision is the federal government. The state does not make the decision. Individual states do not make decisions over the war. So it's a non-binding resolution."

And over healthcare reform, the governor and Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez are not ruling out asking voters to help them. With the legislative session ending in about a week, they're working on a possible ballot measure that would raise business and hospital taxes to help cover the uninsured.

"I think the people should have a say in the decision making," said Gov. Schwarzenegger. "The people are very clear in California. Seventy-percent of the people say that they're dissatisfied with our broken health care system."

Global warming is also still on the Governor's agenda. He told me he's very excited about speaking at the United Nations later this month on California's landmark efforts to curb it.

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