Posted on Monday, November 18, 2024
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by AMAC Action
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2 Comments
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President-elect Trump’s clean sweep of swing states on November 5th included the highly coveted state of Michigan. The Republican winning streak extended to the state level where they won the majority in the Michigan House and ended the Democrats’ trifecta of control over both legislative chambers and the governor’s mansion in the Wolverine State.
It’s no surprise that Michigan Democrats want to inflict as much damage on the state as they can before losing their majority in January. That’s why they recently placed the controversial National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) on the schedule for a vote in the House.
Ballotpedia describes the NPVIC as “an interstate compact to award member states’ presidential electors to the candidate that receives the most votes nationwide. The NPVIC would go into effect if states representing at least the 270 of 538 electoral votes required to elect a president adopt the legislation.”
Ballotpedia further noted that “as of September 2024, 17 states and Washington, D.C., had adopted legislation to join the NPVIC. Together, they represent 209 Electoral College votes—77% of the 270 votes needed for the agreement to go into effect.” Adding Michigan’s 15 electoral votes to this mix would push the percentage needed to nearly 83%.
The problem with the NPVIC is that it erases a state’s voice in presidential elections and aligns the electoral votes with the national popular vote regardless of whom the state’s voters choose. If the compact passes in Michigan, then its voters’ choice would be irrelevant, dictated by large population centers that don’t share the state’s values or priorities.
Fortunately, the grassroots rose quickly and decisively. AMAC Action scrambled AMAC’s Michigan members with a swift call-to-action campaign that resulted in well over 2,300 messages sent to their state representatives demanding opposition to the NPVIC. After this deluge of opposition along with the action of other grassroots groups, the NPVIC bills were pulled from the legislative schedule and the vote was scuttled.
Patrice Johnson, chair of Michigan Fair Elections (MFE) was grateful for the collaboration between her group and AMAC Action saying, “We stopped NPVIC in 2022, and we hope to have it stopped again in this lame duck legislative session. People across the state rose up and told their representatives they would hold them accountable if they demolished our constitutional federation. Organizations like MFE and AMAC Action teamed up to spread the word and none of this would be possible if it weren’t for our amazing supporters. We are deeply grateful.”
Michigan State Representative Ann Bollin (House District 49) said she believes NPVIC is bad for the country and was also grateful for AMAC Action’s support, “Thank you to AMAC Action for their relentless and quick action to help Michigan House Republicans defeat efforts to pass National Popular Vote during the lame duck session. National Popular Vote is bad for our country and bad for Michigan. It would silence the votes in both our urban and rural areas and give the largely populated states and cities a greater say in who runs our great nation. The vote was pulled for a second time during this legislative session – thanks to the great work of AMAC members.”
There are still several days left in the Michigan House’s lame duck session, and we could see the Democrats try to muscle another vote on NPVIC. AMAC Action is monitoring the situation and stands ready to activate the AMAC Army again to unleash the grassroots power necessary to preserve election integrity in Michigan.
Read the full article here