LANSING, Mich — Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson held a press conference Wednesday in which she denounced Michigan Senate Republicans’ voter reform bills. During the conference, she said the bills harm election administration and voting rights.
“The bills that make up the majority of this legislative package do nothing to advance the integrity of our democracy, they simply undo many of the policies that made last year’s election the most accessible and secure in our state’s history,” said Benson.
“Instead of working across the aisle to listen to clerks, the state Bureau of Elections, or voters, those behind these bills choose to ignore the data, truth and best practices and promote policies that will silence the voices of all voters. Their actions are an embarrassment and an affront to every citizen they are sworn to serve.”
In the conference, Benson was joined by several organizational leaders and elected officials from across the state, including Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum.
“The bills in this package show no trace of the expertise, insight and data that have been shared with legislators in good faith by election administrators on both sides of the aisle,” Byrum said. “Sensible improvements to our election processes are needed, but those reforms should make our elections more inclusive, more efficient and more secure. Instead, these bills amount to a willful malicious attempt to strip voting rights away from Michigan’s citizens.”
The reform package, which was introduced by Michigan Senate Republicans in March, include 39 bills addressing elections and voting. The bills would require voters to submit a photo ID, prohibit the unsolicited mass mailing of absentee ballot applications, restrict the hours in which people could drop their ballot in curbside boxes and more.
While republicans claim these bills are aimed at preventing voter fraud, democrats feel otherwise. Benson said they go as far as limiting people's right to vote and making it harder for absentee voting. She called the bills "anti-American," and not backed by data.
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