Ballot drive, suits eyed to fight Michigan vote reforms blasted as suppression, Michigan sheriff enlists private eye to grill clerks in vote fraud probe, He sought to distance GOP from Trump. Democrats have argued the Secure MI Vote plan creates barriers to voting so fewer people have access to the polls. Gretchen Whitmer and implement a host of voting reforms that opponents say are tantamount to suppression. Clerks wonder if the ban on in-kind contributions which applies to any election-related activitymight bar volunteer involvement in elections. Apply today! Sept. 23:What to know about Secure MI Vote initiative: security or suppression?Sept. The state of Michigan already requires residents to present photo identification when registering to vote, and voters are required to present photo ID when voting in person. The results were certified and officially audited by trusted local election officials, as required by law. Why would anyone risk a felony charge for one vote? Organizers propose that $3 million is allocated to that fund for the fiscal year ending in September of 2022. 0. But clerks worry that conflicting requirements proposed by the initiative would cause confusion. LANSING, MI The Secure MI Vote committee can begin collecting signatures to tighten voter ID laws after the Michigan Board of Canvassers approved the group's petition language Monday. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. If legislators were to approve such a measure, it would not go on the ballot. The committee is seeking state approval for the form of its petition, the first step in a plan to bypass Democratic Gov. Currently, there are seven bills sitting in committee to make voting easier. Tuesday's election was a rebuke of Lightfoot, who made history as leader of the nation's third-largest city. Secure MI Vote executive director Jeff Litten is pledging a significant 'no' campaign against the amendment. If that petition collects its roughly . The petition aims to assist those who do not have access or face financial hardship in obtaining an ID in the creation of a $3 million Voter Access Fund.. Democratic and Republican officials in more than 465 Michigan cities, townships and counties applied for and received the assistance, securing private money to help perform public elections. Charlie Spies, a lawyer for Secure MI Vote, said that future guidance would provide clarity, including how toimplement the new ID rules, the focus of the initiative, hesaid. ADVERTISEMENT The board is next scheduled to meet June 23. Secure MI Vote will have 180 days to collect the signatures. Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. The campaign Secure MI Vote filed a petition with the State Board of Canvassers on September 2, 2021. But organizers of that initiative announced Tuesdaythat they wouldn't pursue the initiative petition process and instead focus on pushing lawmakers to enact legislation next year. Citizen led drive to secure Michigan's elections. All rights reserved. I would reject the idea that this has been rushed.. With a number of petition initiatives floating around Michigan this year, we want to make sure youre familiar with all of the facts. "Usually, people applaud when their local government gets grants to help offset some of the costs.". LANSING, Mich. The Secure MI Vote campaign says they're confident they have enough signatures to get their initiative to the legislature. Those campaigns have announced that they will try to make the 2024 ballot instead of putting their proposals before voters in the upcoming midterm. Opponents say if approved the move would further disenfranchise minority and low-income voters. Opponents say if approved, the Secure MI Vote ballot initiative would further disenfranchise minority and low-income voters. The amendment would make the Secure MI Vote initiative moot, if voters approve it in November. Because of a unique provision in the Michigan Constitution, GOP organizers can evade Whitmer by collecting at least 340,047 valid signatures to send the initiative to the Legislature, which could then enact it into law rather than send it to the 2022 ballot. In 2020, people died after they sent in their absentee ballot and before Election Day. "The fact that jurisdictions, regardless of party, sought those funds… would tell you right away that during the pandemic, the Legislature did not provide additional funding to assist these jurisdictions in a monumental shift to mail voting," he said. But organizers of the GOP petition drive say their plan would make that process easier and help the state pay for it. Under Michigan election law, theBoard of State Canvassers must determinewhether the initiative obtained enough valid signatures. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen. Voter fraud is already a felony in Michigan and the attorney general has prosecuted people accordingly. The committee plans to turn in the petition language to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, which is the first step in the pursuit of a new initiative. Thats less than one businesses days notice, Trebilcock said. But those efforts were vetoed by Michigan Gov. Secure MI Vote is an initiative launched by Republican voters looking to tighten Michigans voting and election laws. Meanwhile, two high-profile Republican-backed initiative petitionsvowed to continue collecting signatures and file their petition forms in the coming weeks in hopes that state election officials will review them quickly despite blowing past the deadline. Getting it done by the end of the year is a very daunting hurdle, Roe acknowledged. Despite several reports from government and election officials finding no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, Republican lawmakers and some voters are pushing for tighter voting laws across the U.S. -- including here in Michigan. Nancy Wang, of the group Voters Not Politicians, helped support the Promote the Vote amendment. ", More: Whitmer vetoes election bills aimed at overhauling voter ID rules, More: Petition to overhaul voter ID laws receives state board approval to collect signatures. Attorney Chris Trebilcock, representing Protect MI Vote, spoke in front of the board Monday to argue that the petition is being rushed because the public didnt have enough time to review the updated summary. It is not about election security. Gretchen Whitmer. Gretchen Whitmer Share This: Michigan faces conference rival Wisconsin. Prohibiting election administration grants in future elections will cut off a funding source that Michigan clerks say helped them manage a successful election despite a global pandemic. As a poll worker, I understand how the system prioritizes security and integrity. The "Promote the Vote 2022" ballot initiative would amend the state constitution to improve both security and access to the polls, including expanding early voting and allowing more time for military members to cast their ballots, voting rights leaders said at a Monday press conference. Copyright 2021 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved. (AP) Nebraska lawmakers held a public hearing Wednesday on competing bills to address ways to enact a voter ID requirement approved by voters last November. Here's why. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. If lawmakers enact the initiative, voters will receive guidancein order to comply with the new rules, he said. It's been a challenging process," said Jamie Roe, a spokesman for the Secure MI Vote campaign. Instead, state and local governments would only be allowed to use money appropriated from the government on things like voting equipment, polling places, outreach, etc. Under current law, voters must either present an ID or sign an affidavit. The recall campaign began in August 2022, launched by chairman Belden Batiste and vice chairwoman Eileen Carter, attributing the cause to Cantrell's "quiet quit" and neglect of interacting . The panels investigation found no evidence of widespread or systematic fraud in the Michigan election. President Joe Biden speaks to the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference, Wednesday, March 1, 2023, in Baltimore. However, there are some communities, both urban and rural, that benefit from and count on private donations. 3 talking about this. Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck, a Republican who co-chairs the Michigan Association of County Clerks legislative committee, said the language "represents at best a couple of significant typos, but at worst a lack of understanding of the process itself." What we are trying to do here is just restore the confidence and the belief in the integrity of the system, said spokesperson Jamie Roe, a GOP consultant who is working on the new committee along with veteran Republican operative Fred Wszolek. The Bureau of Elections Ombudsperson for Accessible Elections responds to and assists individuals with disabilities attempting to vote. The current system allows voters without an ID to sign a written affidavit to be able to cast ballots. Create a new voter access fund with $3 million to provide free state ID cards to residents who may struggle to obtain one because of financial hardships. Acceptable forms of photo ID would include a driver license, state ID card, passport, military ID, tribal ID or student ID issued by a university, junior college or community college. If they don't enact the initiative, it goes to a statewide vote. Rather than sign a petition to make voting harder for no reason, call your representative and senator and ask them to make real improvements. "I think something like this is best done through the normal legislative process,"he said. So far this year, officials in Georgia and 17 other states have enacted a combined 30 laws that restrict access to voting in some way, according to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. TheSecure MI Vote initiative that proposes newvoter ID requirements,electionfunding restrictions and a ban on unsolicited mailings of absentee ballot applications announced a similar plan. In order to get their effort in front of the legislature, Secure MI Vote needs more than 300,000 signatures and just two weeks ago it was reported that the campaign was nearly 100,000 signatures short Roe said hes confident the campaign will meet its goal, but encouraged circulators to get their sheets in. Secure MI Votes petition would also make it illegal for private entities to donate money for election administration and would prohibit election officials from sending out absentee ballot applications without a specific request from a voter. In order to get the proposed legislation in front of lawmakers or on the ballot,sponsors of these petition initiatives had to collect at least 340,047 voter signatures. For instance, afunction could be addedonline for voters torequest an application, he said. The ballot initiative would enable Republicans to bypass a veto by Whitmer. Right now Michigan requires an ID or a signed affidavit that is compared to the voter's signature on file. On Oct. 17, Whitmer vetoed two more bills aimed at making sweeping changes to the states election code -- the latest of dozens the governor has vowed will stop at her desk. We really need to take our time to make sure that we are protecting the citizens of Michigans right to your state legislation, Bradshaw said. The number of required signatures varies depending on initiative type, and is based on the number of votes cast for the governor in the states last election. Critics argue that ID requirements like those outlined in Secure MI Votes initiative would put a burden on voters who do not have IDs and cannot easily obtain them, specifically older and low-income populations. The Promote the Vote ballot initiative comes after a Republican-backed petition, "Secure MI Vote" which would make election rules stricter in Michigan. If the initiative is successful, the state would require photo IDs to vote in person and either a photo ID or a partial social security number to apply to vote absentee. Gretchen Whitmer's signature. Most issues are resolved quickly, but integrity and security are the priority. Spies told theBoard of State Canvassers during a Sept. 23 meeting that he wasnt sure whether the initiative would require the application form to be removed from clerks websites. The 3.3 million Michigan absent voter ballots cast in November 2020 beat the states previous record of 1.6 million votes cast in the Aug. 2020 primary election. Though the fate of either effort has yet to be determined, legislative Republicans have said the fight over voter ID requirements wont stop even if the amendment passes. Secure MI Vote is looking to prevent state and local election officials from accepting election funding from parties outside of the government. 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