Addressing the Eastside Republican Club Tuesday, Oct. 17, will be James David Dickson, managing editor of Michigan Capitol Confidential, a daily news site of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Dickson will help clarify issues surrounding a growing movement to circumvent the Electoral College, officially the “National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.”

The compact is a pledge by state legislatures to accept the national popular vote for president when electors are sent every four years to the Electoral College, rather than casting the state’s electoral votes for the choice of their state’s own voters.

Tuesday’s presentation will be at The War Memorial, 32 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Farms. Forum doors open for coffee and networking at 7 p.m.

“As more states, including Michigan, debate whether or not to dump the Electoral College without an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, we wonder how doing so might reduce the influence of states like Michigan, and others in the Midwest,” said ERC chair Mike Vethacke in a statement in advance of the meeting.

“Our Forum is open to the public at no charge, and we invite anyone concerned about upholding the U.S. Constitution to attend and take part in the discussion following Mr. Dickson’s presentation.”

Proponents report the NPV compact already has been enacted in 17 jurisdictions representing 205 electoral votes and needs just 65 more electoral votes to take effect.

In Michigan, the House Elections Committee approved the NPV bill on June 6, 2023, and the measure may appear on Michigan’s Nov. 5, 2024, ballot.

Dickson grew up in Inkster and now hails from Ferndale. After starting his career in 2007-2008 with a one-year fellowship at The American Spectator, Dickson then had stops at The Detroit News and two newspapers in Ann Arbor.

He returned to The Detroit News in 2012 where he served for a decade.

While attending the University of Michigan, Dickson was editor-in-chief of The Michigan Review, a columnist for the Michigan Daily, and a James B. Angell Scholar.