State Rep. Andrew Fink (R-Adams Township) said he will vote to protect Michigan from losing its prominent voice in future presidential elections.

Legislation introduced by Democrats would dramatically diminish the influential role Michigan voters will play in the election of the next president.

If signed into law, House Bill 4156 would enter Michigan into the National Popular Vote Compact, a scheme that hands Michigan’s electoral votes to whichever presidential candidate earns the most votes nationally, not the most in the state.

“This setup would guarantee that our presidential elections will be decided by the most populated areas in the nation – like New York City and L.A.,” Fink said. “The Electoral College has ensured that every state has a stake in deciding our elections for 230 years. Presidential candidates should care about the interests of every one of America’s diverse populations, from rural farm communities to metropolitan areas of all sizes.”

Fink also said that when the country was first formed, citizens in small states were concerned that they would not have the same voice as those in large states, which is why the Electoral College was created in the first place.

In Michigan, nearly 2 million citizens live in rural areas, but they aren’t the only ones who could be disenfranchised by a National Popular Vote. They system would also muffle the voices of voters in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor, as their populations are far smaller than big cities in states such as New York and California.

The bill was recently approved by the House Elections Committee and now awaits consideration by the full House.

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