Michigan Republican Gives Jaw-Dropping Explanation For Why His Party Wants To Rig The Electoral College

Michigan House of RepresentativesMichigan state Rep. Pete Lund, a Republican, is considering re-introducing a bill similar to one being advanced in Virginia that would revamp the way Electoral College votes are allocated in the state.

Lund introduced a similar bill last year that failed in the legislature. The plan would have awarded a vote to the winner of each of Michigan's 14 Congressional districts. The remaining two electoral votes would go to the winner of the statewide popular vote.

Lund's explanation for why it failed, via The Detroit Free Press, is rather revealing:

"It got no traction last year. There were people convinced Romney was going to win and this might take (electoral) votes from him."

In other words, as Kevin Drum observes, the interest in this measure is relating to helping Republicans, not actually improving democracy!

Later in the story, he attempted to explain why he thinks it would make each vote more important:

"Right now, in most states it's like the vote doesn't even matter to presidential candidates," Lund said. "If we do this, all of Michigan won't necessarily be in play, but maybe some of it will."

But The Free Press estimated that under Lund's proposed plan, Mitt Romney would have won nine of Michigan's electoral votes, while President Barack Obama would have won seven.

Obama won Michigan by almost 450,000 votes in 2012.