Initiative Petition Will Let Michigan Voters Decide Whether to Enact National Popular Vote
Please support the Yes On National Popular Vote campaign announced today to gather signatures of 340,047 Michigan voters on an initiative petition to let the voters decide whether to enact the National Popular Vote law.
 


SHORTCOMINGS OF THE CURRENT SYSTEM
The shortcomings of the current system of electing the President stem from state "winner-take-all" laws that award all of a state's electoral votes to the candidate receiving the most popular votes in each separate state.

These winner-take-all laws result in the Presidency being decided by a few thousand votes in a few closely divided states. In 2000, 537 votes in Florida decided the national outcome.

Two of our last 4 Presidents have come into office without getting the most popular votes nationally.
Moreover, 2 of the last 6 presidential elections have been near-misses (2004 and 2020).
In 2020, if 5,229 voters in Arizona, 5,890 in Georgia, and 10,342 in Wisconsin had changed their minds, Donald Trump would have remained President -- despite Joe Biden's lead of over 7,000,000 votes nationally. more

Real or imagined irregularities in closely divided states invite uncertainty, recounts, hair-splitting legal disputes in which judges decide elections, and a loss of confidence in elections. The fragility of the current system contributed to violence on January 6, 2021.

Moreover, the out-sized importance of a few votes in a few states is a virtual invitation to foreign or domestic interference with elections.

A national popular vote will bring stability to the system by preventing the national outcome from depending on a few thousand votes in a few states in an election with 158,000,000 votes.

You can help enact a National Popular Vote for President by supporting our campaign.
OUR BROKEN SYSTEM CAN BE FIXED BY THE STATES

The U.S. Constitution gives the states exclusive power to choose the method of awarding their electoral votes.

The current state-by-state winner-take-all method of awarding electoral votes was not the Founding Fathers' choice.  It was never debated at the Constitutional Convention, or mentioned in the Federalist Papers. Winner-take-all was used by only three states in the nation's first presidential election in 1789 (and all three abandoned it by 1800). more

15 states and the District of Columbia have already enacted National Popular Vote into law. Together, they have 195 of the 270 electoral votes needed to put the law into effect nationally. 3,529 state legislators around the country have endorsed National Popular Vote. more

A majority of Republican senators and a majority of Democratic senators sponsored National Popular Vote as recently as 2018 in Michigan. The Michigan House approved it several years ago. However, both chambers have yet to approve this common-sense legislation. more

Initiative petitions in Michigan are presented to the legislature. If both houses do not enact it, the voters -- not politicians -- will be able to vote on whether to enact National Popular Vote in a statewide election. If the voters approve, Michigan would join the growing group of states supporting a national popular vote for President.

Under the National Popular Vote law, everyone's vote throughout the country will be counted directly for that individual voter's choice for President. Your vote will no longer be cancelled out at the state level just because you voted differently than the majority in the state.

The National Popular Vote law will come into effect when enacted by states with a majority of the electoral votes (270 of 538).

Then, when the Electoral College meets in mid-December, the candidate getting the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC will get all the electoral votes from the enacting states. That is, the candidate receiving the most popular votes nationwide will get at least 270 electoral votes, and therefore become President.

Under the current system, presidential candidates have no reason to pay attention to voters in states where they are safely ahead or hopelessly behind. The fleeting nature of battleground status was illustrated by Michigan being ignored in 2 of the last 4 presidential elections (in 2008 and 2012 when Michigan was not closely divided).

Under National Popular Vote, every voter, in every state will be politically relevant in every presidential election.

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Thank you.

PO Box 2943
Southfield, MI 48037