Michigan Tees Up Another Effort to Change Electoral Vote Allocation

March 11, 2015

A bill that would change how Michigan allocates its electoral college votes was introduced in the State Legislature this week, Michigan Radio reports. This is not the first time time the Republican-controlled legislature has attempted to modify the all-or-none allocation method in an attempt to get some of Michigan's 16 electoral votes into the column of their presidential nominee. Michigan has not voted for a Republican in a presidential election since 1988.

In the current bill, two electoral votes would go to the winner of the state's popular vote, while the remaining 14 would be allocated individually based on the winner of the popular vote in each Congressional District. This is the same methodology used in Nebraska and Maine, the only two states not following the all-or-none method. 

Had this method been in place during the 2012 election, Mitt Romney would have received 9 electoral votes from Michigan, despite losing the overall popular vote by almost 10%.  

To see the implications of alternate electoral college methods in each state, visit our Gaming the Electoral College feature.