LANSING — A national push to guarantee U.S. presidents are elected by popular vote is gaining momentum in Michigan, where the Democratic Party and a powerful coalition of voter rights groups are backing previously-stalled legislation.
Those groups — including the ACLU of Michigan, Voters Not Politicians and the state’s League of Women Voters — have helped overhaul Michigan election laws in recent years. They said Wednesday that joining the National Popular Vote Compact would be a “logical next step” in their “pro-democracy” movement.
“National popular vote is about strengthening our democracy, because it’s one person, one vote,” said Nancy Wang, executive director for Voters Not Politicians, which helped organize recent state redistricting and voting reforms.
“You must ensure that a presidential candidate who wins the most votes heads to the White House, and that hasn’t been the case in two out of the last five elections,” she said, referencing the 2000 and 2016 elections of former presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump.
The compact would only take effect if enough states sign on to reach the 270 delegates needed to win the White House. If the new legislation is approved, Michigan would be the16th state to join the compact, pushing the running total of pledged delegates to more than 200.
This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan. Read more here: https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/national-popular-vote-president-builds-momentum-michigan
