(The Center Square) – Election reform bills have been introduced by Michigan Republican representatives.
The two packages differ completely from the Democrat-sponsored bills passed Wednesday in the House of Representatives.
The Republican bills aim to close campaign finance loopholes, bring voter rolls up to date, and develop a training regimen for poll challengers.
As reported previously in The Center Square, the Democrat bills, if enacted into law, would allow voting preregistration at the age of 16 and make disclosing an election result from an early voting site before Election Day a Class E felony with a statutory maximum of five years’ imprisonment.”
State Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton Township, is a former township clerk who sponsored the Republican bills with three other representatives who have also served as either township or county clerks.
“As a former clerk, I know how vital it is to maintain precise records and promote fairness and accountability through our election laws,” Bollin said. “Protecting the integrity of our elections is of utmost importance. Each vote represents the voice of a Michigander, and it is our duty to ensure that every citizen’s choice is respected and counted. By improving our standards with broadly supported, common-sense reforms, we can build trust in our elections and make sure all eligible voters can vote freely, secretly, independently, and securely.”
The first bill package includes House Bills 4502-03, which would implement a state program responsible for training credentialed poll challengers. Currently, Michigan law does not require such a program. HB4874 would require the secretary of state to post the names of local clerks who have not completed the mandatory courses.
The second bill package is HB4870-76. HB4870 would close a campaign finance loophole that allows officeholders to raise and spend unlimited sums of donations during election recall efforts such as occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The bill would create separate recall committees under the Michigan Campaign Finance Act.
House Bill 4871 would prevent the secretary of state from implementing a print-on-demand ballot system in the state. Bollin said moving to a ballot-on-demand system would have profound consequences on recounts and retabulation, the recording of voted ballots, and auditing challenged ballots.
House bills 4872 and 4875 would require updating qualified voter files after each federal census is completed to remove the names of those who haven’t voted in 20 or more years. HB4873 would require county clerks to notify the secretary of state when a juror qualification questionnaire is returned as undeliverable, or if the individual provides a new address. The secretary of state’s office must then send a notice to all registered voters for the opportunity to verify or correct their address information. Those who do not respond will be removed from the qualified voter file.
HB4876 would mandate the secretary of state’s office to report information it receives from the Electronic Registration Information Center to the Legislature. According to Bollin, the reports would offer high-level details, including the number of people moving from Michigan and those who are registered to vote in another state but live in Michigan.
The bills have been referred to the House Government Operations Committee.
