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Candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama debate.
(AP File Photo)
LANSING, MI -- A Republican presidential candidate hasn't won Michigan since 1988, but with 2016 on the horizon, GOP lawmakers are proposing bills that could help a second-place finisher win some electoral college votes here.
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* Rigging? State Rep. Cindy Gamrat, R-Plainwell, this month reintroduced legislation that would award Michigan's electoral college votes by Congressional District, ditching the winner-take-all model that most states use and diminishing the influence of large cities that can swing a vote.
David Weigel of Bloomberg News, calling the bill part of the "electoral college-rigging movement," noted that Republican nominee Mitt Romney would have won nine of Michigan's 16 electoral college votes in 2012 under the proposed system despite losing to Democratic President Barack Obama by nearly 450,000 votes.
But Gamrat, who posted the Bloomberg article on Facebook, defended her proposal online. It would increase "the value of every Michigan citizen's vote in Presidential elections," she wrote. "Far from electoral college rigging - it strengthens the voice of each Michigan voter!"
* Proportional: Sen. Dave Hildenbrand, meanwhile, introduced a bill this week that would divide Michigan's electoral votes proportionally based on the number of votes the top candidate receives. Win 54 percent of the vote, as Obama received in 2012, a candidate would get 9 of 16 electoral votes. The runner-up would get the rest.
"I think it just better reflects the voters of the state," Hildenbrand, R-Lowell, told MLive. "Instead of a Republican winning and all electoral votes just represent the Republican voters, or a Democrat wins and all electoral votes represent Democrats, why can't we have a system that reflects all voters of our state?"
In an interesting twist, Hildenbrand tie-barred his bill to another from Sen. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor, that would see Michigan join a National Popular Vote compact. If enough states sign on, each would award their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. Until then, Michigan would go with a proportional system.
* TIMING: The exercise may be academic, as Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has shied away from proposed electoral college legislation each of the last two years, saying it would be more appropriate to have the discussion following the next U.S. Census.
House Elections Chair Lisa Lyons, R-Alto, told Gongwer News Service it may already be too close to 2016 to modify the state's electoral college system. Senate Elections Chair Dave Robertson, R-Grand Blanc, said he wants to study the Hildenbrand and Warren bills, but doesn't expect to hold a hearing anytime soon.
This is the year to have the debate, according to Hildenbrand. "I think once it gets into next year the parties are trying to position themselves to advantage a certain candidate or party," he said. "So I don't think next year is the time to have this conversation, but this year it is."
Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.