Did Michigan Electors Do The Right Thing Casting All Votes For Trump?

“I have been going to and covering Electoral Colleges since 1988,” says Rick Pluta. “Yesterday was very, very different”

Cheyna Roth/MPRN

There were protests yesterday at the state Capitol as Michigan’s electors cast their votes for president. Demonstrators urged electors to vote their conscience — especially if that meant voting for someone other than Donald Trump, who narrowly won Michigan on November 8th.

But the electors did what they were required to do under state law and cast all of 16 Electoral College votes for Trump.

Was that the right thing to do? Should we change the way we divvy up our Electoral College votes? And are more sweeping changes needed to the way we as a country elect our presidents?

Rick Pluta, the state Capitol bureau chief for the Michigan Public Radio Network, joins Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson to talk about the historic vote and the protests surrounding it.

“I have been going to and covering Electoral Colleges since 1988. And, more often than not, they’re so quiet that people outside the Michigan Senate chamber – where it’s always held – don’t even know what’s going on,” says Pluta. “But yesterday was very, very different.”

Click on the audio player above to hear the full conversation.

Author

  • Detroit Today
    Dynamic and diverse voices. News, politics, community and the issues that define our region. Hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stephen Henderson, Detroit Today brings you fresh and perceptive views weekdays at 9 am and 7 pm.