A new G.O.P. effort is underway to change the method of selecting California’s electoral votes in the next presidential election. California is currently a winner take all state, with the winner of the state receiving all of California’s 55 electoral votes. With the state solidly in the Democratic camp Republicans are seeking to change that formula to distribute those votes by congressional district. With 53 Congressional districts this plan would award one vote to the winner of a congressional district, with two reserved for the overall state winner. In the Kerry-Bush matchup this scenario would have given Bush 22 of California’s electoral votes and negated Ohio’s battleground status. From yesterday’s New York Times:

“Their idea is to have California be the only big state to do this,” said Chris Lehane, a Democratic strategist who is supporting Senator Hillary Clinton’s candidacy. “If the Republicans can poach 20 electoral votes from the Democrats in California, that’s the same as winning all the electoral votes in Ohio. You’re basically giving them the election.”

And who is leading the charge in California?

The proposal has been dubbed the “Presidential Election Reform Act.” It is being led by Thomas Hiltachk of Bell, McAndrews and Hiltachk, a law firm that has represented both the state Republican Party and G.O.P. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

According to The Associated Press, the firm was also linked to a political committee, largely funded by Bob Perry, that targeted Democratic candidates in 2006. Mr. Perry, a longtime supporter of George W. Bush, contributed millions of dollars to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, whose intense and deceptive campaign in 2004 was so damaging to the candidacy of John Kerry.

You can be sure that the Democratic Party will be involved in opposition, as the stakes are pretty high. The New York Times has opened their opinion section, ending the charges associated with it. Read the Bob Herbert column here.