House Bill 4156 threatens to disenfranchise Michigan voters

State Rep. Ann Bollin today reiterated her firm opposition to House Bill 4156, legislation that would place Michigan into the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

“House Bill 4156 is a dangerous proposal that disenfranchises Michigan voters,” said Bollin, R-Brighton Township. “The ultimate goal of this legislation is to force Michigan’s electoral votes to be determined by the national popular vote, effectively silencing the voices of Michigan residents in favor of those in other states like California or New York.”

The National Popular Vote Compact undermines the purpose of the Electoral College, established by the Founding Fathers to ensure a balanced influence from diverse states and regions in presidential elections.

“The Electoral College ensures presidential candidates campaign across a variety of states, addressing unique regional concerns,” Bollin said. “Michigan’s urban, suburban, and rural communities deserve to have their voices heard. This legislation would drown out those voices in favor of larger states with massive population centers.”

Bollin said the plan also poses a significant threat to electoral integrity, potentially leading to premature acceptance of incomplete results from other states, complications from varying recount standards, and increased reliance on courts to resolve disputes.

“The National Popular Vote movement is harmful to both Michigan and the entire country,” Bollin said. “It dismisses the Constitution, ignores smaller states’ interests, and undermines public confidence in our elections. We must reject this flawed proposal to preserve our fair and balanced electoral system.”

Bollin also highlighted continued claims by the bill’s sponsor that the National Popular Vote proposal is no different than the way state representatives are elected by popular vote within their districts.

“The sponsor of this legislation keeps pointing out that state representatives are elected by popular vote,” Bollin said. “However, her proposal creates a much different scenario. In her example, one community of interest elects a representative to serve as their voice. But under her legislation, the electoral votes meant to represent the collective voice of Michigan voters would be cast based on the opinions of voters in other states like California or New York. This is fundamentally unfair to Michigan voters.”

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