Bill's Supporters Say Splitting Electoral Votes More Fairly Represents Will of People

Republican Gov. Rick Snyder says he’s skeptical of legislation a member of his caucus is proposing that would allow Michigan to split its 16 electoral votes in presidential elections.

Snyder told MLive the idea proposed by Rep. Pete Lund, R-Shelby Township may have some merit, but said discussion should be postponed until after the 2020 Census.

Currently, only two states, Maine and Nebraska, deviate from the winner-takes-all tradition. Presidential hopefuls generally treat Michigan as a flyover state, and splitting the electoral votes would make it more attractive to candidates and bring more ad dollars into the state, Lund argues.

“Candidates running for president currently don’t feel the need to come to Michigan in order to win,” Lund said in a statement. “This proposal would make Michigan an important state for these candidates to visit, forcing them to speak on issues affecting our state, and more importantly, create policies that benefit all Michigan residents.”

Democrats generally don’t like the idea and think any changes to the Electoral College system should be made uniformly across the country, not on a state-by-state basis.

“Going to that system in states that tend to go Democratic, like Michigan, and not doing so in states that tend to vote Republican, obviously rigs the overall national system in favor of Republicans,” House Minority Leader Tim Greimel, D-Auburn Hills, said.

Republicans haven’t won Michigan in a presidential election since 1988, when then Vice President George H.W. Bush won the GOP nomination and went on the win the presidency.

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Under Lund’s proposal, at least nine of Michigan’s 16 electoral votes would go to the winner of the popular vote. The remainder would be apportioned based on the margin of victory. The votes would be assigned only to the top two candidates.

Had such a system been in place in 2012, President Barack Obama would have received only 12 of Michigan’s electoral votes. Republican nominee Mitt Romney, who lost his native state of Michigan by 450,000 votes, would have received four.

House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, thinks splitting electoral votes – a measure Lund also introduced in 2011 – would “more accurately represent the will of the people in Michigan and how they voted,” spokesman Ari Adler said.

Bolger wants to take up the issue during the lame-duck session, but Snyder said doing so could jeopardize Democratic support on issues such as long-term road funding. Greimel said as much in a stern warning:

“Any change of the electoral college system to rig president elections in Michigan will be toxic to the atmosphere in Lansing,” he said.

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Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romeny, who was born and raised in Bloomfield Hills, would have received four of Michigan’s 16 electoral votes if a system proposed by state Rep. Pete Lund, R-Shelby Township, had been in place in 2012. (Photo via Creative Commons)