LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Representative Carrie Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor) was joined by other members of a coalition that is advocating for Michigan to join other states that have agreed to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.   

At session on Wednesday, Rep. Rheingans and Senator Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) will introduce legislation which could allocate Michigan’s 15 electoral college votes towards the Presidential Candidate with the highest number of popular votes.  

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“The fundamental matter of fairness and safeguarding our democracy is what we’re here to talk about today,” Rep. Rheingans said, “The National Popular Vote ensures that every voter in every state will have an equal say in the Presidential election.  It means that every voice will be heard no matter where you live, what you look like, or what party you support.” 

Representative Rheingans also pointed out that the candidate who lost the national popular vote lost two of the last six elections- and that the candidate who lost during her first time voting won the Presidency. 

“That’s why we need to make sure that the person who has the most popular votes in the United States wins the presidency,” she said. 

The Michigan Legislature has considered National Popular Vote legislation previously under the Republican Majority, when Representative Matt Kolezar (D-Plymouth) introduced HB 5343 in 2021 which would have created an agreement in which the president would be elected by popular vote.  According to Rep. Rheingans, her bill is nearly identical to HB 5343.  

While Rep. Rheingans did not identify any current Republican Representatives who supported the bill, she acknowledged that the bill had received bipartisan support in the past. 

Michigan could also become the 16th state to join as so far 15 states have enacted the National Popular Vote legislation; they are Delaware, California, Washington, Illinois, New York, Oregon, New Mexico, New Jersey, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut, Colorado, Maryland, and Massachusetts.  These states represent 195 of the 270 electoral votes needed to activate the law.  

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There are also eight other states where the National Popular Vote law has been or is currently being considered, that total of 88 electoral votes according to a memorandum from the desk of Senator Chang.  Those states are: Arkansas, Arizona, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Virginia.  

When Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Township) served in the House in 2021, he, current House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland Township), and Representative Andrew Fink (R-Hillsdale) among others legislators signed onto a letter opposing the proposed legislation which failed to pass beyond the House. 

“The so-called “National Popular Vote” proposal would permanently disenfranchise every voter in the state, forcing Michigan to cost its presidential elector votes for whoever wins the national popular vote – even if the voters of Michigan overwhelmingly chose someone else,” the letter said.  

Part of the reason he opposed NPVIC legislation then and now is that the Electoral College is an important feature of the Republican system in this country according to Rep. Fink. 

“We divide sovereignty between the states and the federal government for the reason that we understand that the issues that should be national should be national and the issues that should be state should be state level,” Fink said, “And combining essentially all of our politics into one national vote sort of misunderstands what our arrangement is supposed to be like.”  

It’s not an issue to let other states have different ideas and represent those ideas such as Massachusetts and Alabama according to Fink, and it makes sense to let them have their own voice in the electoral process. 

“The systemic change is that if we are adopting the National Popular Vote, we are essentially farming out our Presidential selection to other states and rather than speaking as our state, we would be allowing the much larger populations in states that are far from here with different problems and different values in some cases to have a larger voice than we do in how our own electoral votes are allocated – that’s just not something I would do in any field.” 

“I don’t think Michigan should farm its policy out to New York or Texas on any topic,” Fink added, “Michigan should speak for Michigan.”  

While Senator Chang was unable to attend the press conference this morning, Rep. Rheingans read her statement aloud. 

“She said she believes that the presidential candidate who has the most votes nationwide should be president- period,” Rep. Rheingans said, “Under our current system, five of our last six presidents have won the election to the presidency without winning the national popular votes in all fifty states and D.C.” 

Enacting the National Popular Vote will ensure that the candidate who wins the most popular votes in all fifty states and D.C. is guaranteed to win the Electoral College of the Presidency according to Chang.