ELECTORAL VOTES 16

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ABOUT
MICHIGAN

2010 Census Reapportionment: Michigan was the only state to lose population in the 2010 Census. It will lose one electoral vote, giving it 16 for the 2012, 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. This is the 4th consecutive Census where Michigan has lost at least one electoral vote.



Michigan joined the Union in January 1837. The state voted primarily Republican in presidential elections until the Great Depression. From the 1930s through the 1960s, the state alternated periodically between the two parties. From 1972 through 1988 the state voted exclusively Republican, before becoming the Democratic-leaning state it is today. In 2008, Barack Obama defeated John McCain by a 57% to 41% margin. The state has experienced significant economic turmoil since the 1970s and has seen slow population growth relative to the rest of the country. This has resulted in a loss of electoral votes, from 21 in the 1970s to 16 in 2012.