Fix the Electoral College with National Popular Vote

In 2016, Trump lost the popular vote but was still elected president. In fact, five times in U.S. history, the loser of the popular vote ultimately became president. Since 2000, two out of four U.S. presidents received fewer votes than their opponents but still won the White House.  

We came dangerously close to history repeating itself in 2020. While Joe Biden beat Trump by over six million votes nationally, the election was decided by razor-thin margins in a few key battleground states like Wisconsin, Arizona, and Georgia.

Why does this keep happening? Our antiquated and undemocratic system gives the presidency to the candidate who wins the most electoral votes—not the candidate who receives the most votes overall. 

But there’s a way we can fix the Electoral College system. By adopting the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, states can ensure that the candidate who wins the most votes becomes president every time.

This year, Michigan has the opportunity to pass a National Popular Vote (NPV) bill, which would ensure that the presidential candidate who gets the most votes walks into the White House on Inauguration Day. NPV would also help protect against efforts to game the system, like Trump’s fake elector scheme, because it would put presidential elections out of cheating distance for anti-democratic candidates. 

Already, 15 states and Washington, D.C. have passed NPV, which is 195 of the 270 Electoral College votes needed for NPV to take effect. If Michigan were to pass NPV, the state’s 15 electoral votes would bring the total to 210. 

Tell your Michigan state legislators to vote YES on the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact because the candidate who gets the most votes should win.