Is Michigan Taking Steps to Ditch The Electoral College? [VIDEO]

There's a lot of ground to cover, but before the next presidential election, Michigan could be taking steps toward eliminating participation in the Electoral College.

A new ballot initiative would essentially make Michigan a 'winner take all' state, meaning all 16 of Michigan's electoral votes would go to the winner of the national popular vote and not necessarily to the candidate who wins the state.

Representatives from both sides of the political aisle are backing the proposal, saying it would make Michigan a battleground state in each presidential election, forcing candidates to campaign hard in the Mitten State.

Saul Anuzis, the former chair of the Michigan GOP tells WDIV in the video below that having a national popular vote would make Michiganians' votes all that more important to Republican and Democratic candidates.

"You could not afford to walk away from 10 million people in Michigan and have a five percent, two percent, even one percent drop in presidential election turnouts," Anuzis said.

Uphill Climb

In order for this new proposal to appear before legislators, it would require petition signatures from more than 300,000 Michigan residents.

Fifteen states and Washington DC have already enacted laws supporting the national popular vote but states representing 270 electoral votes would have to be aligned in order for the movement to take hold. That number currently stands at 195.

Electing a US president using a popular vote model would have changed the outcomes of five presidential elections, most recently in 2016 when Donald Trump lost the popular vote to Hilary Clinton but was elected president after winning the electoral college.

You can click here to electronically sign the petition in support of a national popular vote.