SENATE BILL No. 88

 

 

February 10, 2015, Introduced by Senators WARREN, HERTEL, ANANICH, BIEDA and GREGORY and referred to the Committee on Elections and Government Reform.

 

 

 

     A bill to enter into the interstate compact to elect the

 

president by national popular vote; and for related purposes.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the

 

"interstate compact to elect the president by national popular

 

vote".

 

     Sec. 3. The interstate compact to elect the president by

 

national popular vote is enacted into law and entered into with all

 

jurisdictions legally joining in the compact, in the form

 

substantially as follows:

 

Agreement Among the States to Elect the President

 

by National Popular Vote

 

ARTICLE I - MEMBERSHIP

 

     Any State of the United States and the District of Columbia


 

may become a member of this agreement by enacting this agreement.

 

ARTICLE II - RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE IN MEMBER STATES TO VOTE FOR

 

PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT

 

     Each member state shall conduct a statewide popular election

 

for President and Vice President of the United States.

 

ARTICLE III - MANNER OF APPOINTING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS IN MEMBER

 

STATES

 

     Prior to the time set by law for the meeting and voting by the

 

presidential electors, the chief election official of each member

 

state shall determine the number of votes for each presidential

 

slate in each State of the United States and in the District of

 

Columbia in which votes have been cast in a statewide popular

 

election and shall add such votes together to produce a "national

 

popular vote total" for each presidential slate.

 

     The chief election official of each member state shall

 

designate the presidential slate with the largest national popular

 

vote total as the "national popular vote winner."

 

     The presidential elector certifying official of each member

 

state shall certify the appointment in that official's own state of

 

the elector slate nominated in that state in association with the

 

national popular vote winner.

 

     At least six days before the day fixed by law for the meeting

 

and voting by the presidential electors, each member state shall

 

make a final determination of the number of popular votes cast in

 

the state for each presidential slate and shall communicate an

 

official statement of such determination within 24 hours to the

 

chief election official of each other member state.


 

     The chief election official of each member state shall treat

 

as conclusive an official statement containing the number of

 

popular votes in a state for each presidential slate made by the

 

day established by federal law for making a state's final

 

determination conclusive as to the counting of electoral votes by

 

Congress.

 

     In event of a tie for the national popular vote winner, the

 

presidential elector certifying official of each member state shall

 

certify the appointment of the elector slate nominated in

 

association with the presidential slate receiving the largest

 

number of popular votes within that official's own state.

 

     If, for any reason, the number of presidential electors

 

nominated in a member state in association with the national

 

popular vote winner is less than or greater than that state's

 

number of electoral votes, the presidential candidate on the

 

presidential slate that has been designated as the national popular

 

vote winner shall have the power to nominate the presidential

 

electors for that state and that state's presidential elector

 

certifying official shall certify the appointment of such nominees.

 

     The chief election official of each member state shall

 

immediately release to the public all vote counts or statements of

 

votes as they are determined or obtained.

 

     This article shall govern the appointment of presidential

 

electors in each member state in any year in which this agreement

 

is, on July 20, in effect in states cumulatively possessing a

 

majority of the electoral votes.

 

ARTICLE IV - OTHER PROVISIONS


 

     This agreement shall take effect when states cumulatively

 

possessing a majority of the electoral votes have enacted this

 

agreement in substantially the same form and the enactments by such

 

states have taken effect in each state.

 

     Any member state may withdraw from this agreement, except that

 

a withdrawal occurring six months or less before the end of a

 

President's term shall not become effective until a President or

 

Vice President shall have been qualified to serve the next term.

 

     The chief executive of each member state shall promptly notify

 

the chief executive of all other states of when this agreement has

 

been enacted and has taken effect in that official's state, when

 

the state has withdrawn from this agreement, and when this

 

agreement takes effect generally.

 

     This agreement shall terminate if the electoral college is

 

abolished.

 

     If any provision of this agreement is held invalid, the

 

remaining provisions shall not be affected.

 

ARTICLE V - DEFINITIONS

 

     For purposes of this agreement,

 

     "chief executive" shall mean the Governor of a State of the

 

United States or the Mayor of the District of Columbia;

 

     "elector slate" shall mean a slate of candidates who have been

 

nominated in a state for the position of presidential elector in

 

association with a presidential slate;

 

     "chief election official" shall mean the state official or

 

body that is authorized to certify the total number of popular

 

votes for each presidential slate;


 

     "presidential elector" shall mean an elector for President and

 

Vice President of the United States;

 

     "presidential elector certifying official" shall mean the

 

state official or body that is authorized to certify the

 

appointment of the state's presidential electors;

 

     "presidential slate" shall mean a slate of two persons, the

 

first of whom has been nominated as a candidate for President of

 

the United States and the second of whom has been nominated as a

 

candidate for Vice President of the United States, or any legal

 

successors to such persons, regardless of whether both names appear

 

on the ballot presented to the voter in a particular state;

 

     "state" shall mean a State of the United States and the

 

District of Columbia; and

 

     "statewide popular election" shall mean a general election in

 

which votes are cast for presidential slates by individual voters

 

and counted on a statewide basis.