If the 2020 Presidential Election didn’t provide enough interest and or stress for you, then the recent announcement from Democrats in the state legislature should remedy that.
On Wednesday, lawmakers in Lansing revisited legislation that would significantly alter the way in which residents of Michigan voted and how the President of the United States is elected. If approved, the (NPVIC) or National Popular Vote Interstate Compact would replace the current Electoral College.
The basic premise of the NPVIC is to have states each pass an identical piece of legislation under which they would award their electoral votes to the candidate who receives the most “popular votes” nationwide, including the District of Columbia.
Additionally, this compact would not go into effect until enacted by states collectively possessing a majority of the electoral vote, 270 of the 538 electoral votes. Today, all states choose their Electors by direct statewide election, except Maine and Nebraska, which select two Electors by a statewide popular vote and the remainder by the popular vote in each Congressional district.
Under the National Popular Vote compact, the Electors would be selected based on a nationwide popular vote.
“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.”
-MFF Statement on Democrat National Popular Vote Scheme-
On September 6, 1787, at the Constitutional Convention, the founding fathers approved the Electoral College proposal. Article II, Section I of the Constitution is a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and the election by a popular vote of the whole citizenry. Direct election was rejected not because the Framers of the Constitution doubted public intelligence but rather because they feared that without sufficient information about candidates from outside their State, people would naturally vote for a “favorite son” from their own State or region. At worst, no president would emerge with a popular majority sufficient to govern the whole country. At best, the choice of president would always be decided by the largest, most populous States with little regard for the smaller ones. Additionally, it was designed to safeguard against undue influence by small groups and ensure that states with larger populations didn’t overpower or overshadow states with smaller populations.
A perfect example of this would be to compare L.A. County and the State of Michigan. Los Angeles County alone has slightly more residents than the entire state of Michigan. If a popular vote was ratified, then Liberal policies from cities like LA could easily be passed, in turn disenfranchising millions of Michigan voters. It should go without saying, but shouldn’t Michigan voters determine the outcome of Michigan elections and not an ineffective popularity contest?
