National Popular vote divides some Republicans

(The Center Square) – Democrats and some former Republican lawmakers are backing House Bill 4516, which aims to enter Michigan into the National Popular Vote Compact.

Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have passed the National Popular Vote law, representing 195 of the 270 electoral votes needed to trigger the National Popular Vote.

If enough states join, the presidential candidate receiving the most votes nationwide would receive all electoral votes from member states and would be guaranteed enough votes to become president.

Michigan has 15 electoral votes that could build to the 270 mark if the bill was passed by both chambers and signed into law.

Former Republican House Speaker Chuck Perricone backs the idea. In Tuesday testimony to the House Committee on Elections, he said: “It creates a rare opportunity in Michigan for Republicans, Democrats, progressives, conservatives, right and left, to come together in support of a simple but fundamental principle: the presidential candidate who receives the most votes should win.”

GOP Clerk and former Rep. Kim Meltzer supported the idea in a letter to the Senate Committee on Elections and Ethics.

The former township clerk wrote: “Having extensively reviewed the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, I can say that it does not abolish the Electoral College; does not change or impact any other federal, state, or local election law; and does not require any extra steps, new machinery or apparatuses, or increased funding to be implemented,” Meltzer said. “Instead, the legislation uses the Michigan Legislature’s plenary power under the U.S. Constitution to award Michigan’s electors to the presidential candidate with the most votes.”

Bill sponsor Rep. Carrie Rheingans, D-Ann Arbor, said the change would mean that “every vote is equal.”

“I was elected to the Michigan House because I won the most votes — and the same should be true for how we elect our country’s president,” Rheingans said in a statement. “Fairness and living in a democracy means every voice is heard, and every vote is equal. The National Popular Vote bill ensures that every voter, in every state, will have an equal vote in every presidential election.”

Under the current system, five of the nation’s 46 presidents won the election without winning the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The presidential candidate who lost the national popular vote become president in two of the last six elections.

The Michigan Freedom Fund conservative group opposes the notion, asserting in a statement released last week: “Any Michigan legislator fighting to install a so-called ‘national popular vote’ is making clear that they are choosing to represent the interests of coastal elites over the people who elected them. Putting our Presidential elections in the hands of areas like Los Angeles County, which has more people than the entire state of Michigan, would disenfranchise millions of Michigan voters. The only people who should have a say in Michigan’s elections are Michiganders, period.”

Nancy Wang, executive director of Voters Not Politicians, supports the plan.

“National Popular Vote doesn’t favor any political party, which is why – as a nonpartisan advocacy organization working to strengthen our democracy – we support this bill,” Wang said in a statement. “Voters in the last election sent a clear message rejecting any undermining of our elections and the weakening of our democracy.”

House Republican minority leader Matt Hall, R-Richland Township said the NPVC would “disenfranchise” Michiganders.

“The National Popular Vote Compact would cripple the influence of Michigan voters and cause candidates for our nation’s highest office to ignore communities in our state by focusing on big cities in New York or California,” Hall said in a statement. “Michiganders have made our voices heard loud and clear in recent presidential elections, but this compact would undermine the voters of our key swing state.”