CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH STATE SEN. JOHN DAMOOSE AND TOM STILLINGS
STATE SENATOR JOHN DAMOOSE PRESS RELEASE:
State Sen. John Damoose is leading an effort against the state’s admission into the National Popular Vote Compact (NPVIC) — an agreement among states that involves giving up their electoral votes to whichever presidential candidate earns the most votes nationally.
Damoose’s effort comes after current and former officials have endorsed the concept of Michigan joining the NPVIC and the introduction of a bill in the state Legislature supporting this compact.
“I am proud to lead the fight against this threat to our Republic,” said Damoose, R-Harbor Springs. “I’ve worked to unify members of both the Michigan Senate and House of Representatives and stand tall to protect our state’s ability to choose our own electors.”
Damoose said he is concerned about what this compact could mean for both the future of Michigan and the United States.
“This proposal would fundamentally alter the nature of our Republic and violates the spirit of the Great Compromise — which was crucial to the formation of the United States, giving smaller states the assurance their votes would matter. This compromise is how we ended up with a House of Representatives based on population and a Senate with two Senators from each state — which is how electors are determined. The popular vote is already factored into our electoral process.
“Our current electoral system was necessitated by the reluctance of the smaller states to join a union dominated by large states that could exercise the tyranny of the majority. Without protection from this feared tyranny, there would have been no agreement and no United States of America.”
While lawmakers don’t always agree on solutions, Damoose said he hopes his colleagues will stand up for what is right and for the values that founded this nation.
“The United States was founded on the right to representation,” he said. “Michigan’s Electoral College votes belong to the voters of Michigan and nobody else.”
STATE REP. DAVE PRESTIN PRESS RELEASE:
State Rep. Dave Prestin is condemning the National Popular Vote (NPV) and its inherent measures that would disenfranchise voters in Michigan.
“There is a nationwide push to centralize the U.S. into recognizing a national popular vote process that undermines our state and our nation’s Republic,” said Prestin, of Cedar River. “This is nothing short of tyranny. The proposed National Popular Vote would only marginalize Michigan voters, diminishing their voice on the national stage. Under this anti-constitutional legislation, Michigan voters would lose control of their electors in a presidential election by joining a compact with other states.”
While proponents of NPV legislation claim this only strengthens and solidifies the electoral college, it actually dismembers it. It also neutralizes any last remnants of the constitutional Republican values in the system that gives each state control over their proportional contribution to the electoral college, according to Prestin. For instance, if ‘Candidate A’ took 95% of the vote in Michigan, and ‘Candidate B’ only took 5%, but won the national popular vote in the rest of the country, ‘Candidate B’ would technically win the state – despite only having the support of 5% of Michigan voters.
“We must ensure Michigan continues along the path of the constitutional republic our founders fought for,” Prestin said. “It’s our duty as legislators to preserve the American way of life for the sake of our children, grandchildren, and all future generations in Michigan. Your vote matters, and is worth fighting for. I will never surrender your rights as a voter to the coastal elites of New York and California.”
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