A plan to change the way Michigan awards its electoral votes for president got largely panned at a state House hearing on Monday. The legislation would award up to seven of the state’s 16 Electoral College votes to the presidential runner-up in Michigan. The number of votes they get would depend on how close the popular vote is. Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat who directs the nonpartisan Michigan Center for Election Law, admits the current winner-take-all electoral system is not ideal. “So reform is needed, but not this reform,” she told the state House Elections and Ethics Committee.
Other opponents who spoke at the hearing claimed House Bill 5974 is a scheme to peel off votes for Republicans in a state that has voted for Democrats in every presidential election since 1992.
Even some Republicans on the panel expressed concern. State Rep. Kurt Heise, R-Plymouth Twp., worries it could violate voters’ rights.
“I think that individuals vote as much against somebody as they are voting for somebody,” he said. “And when I go to vote, I don’t want to have that attachment that a portion of my vote is going to the guy I don’t like.”
Full Article: Not Much Enthusiasm For Michigan Electoral Vote Change Proposal | WEMU.