Despite federal laws regulating how polls must accommodate voters, a recent audit of 261 polling places in Metro Detroit found that voter-assist terminals were often not plugged in, missing headphones, showing error codes, or placed in ways that did not guarantee privacy. The greatest barrier to voting at these locations: a lack of accessible entrances. This included a lack of clearly marked entrances, buildings with stairs but no ramps, or ramps blocked by parked cars or signs. The most widespread issue was not having a fully set up wheelchair accessible voting booth. Only 16 percent of polling places in Metro Detroit were fully accessible, or had no impediments to voting, the audit found.
State lawmakers are now considering a package of election bills that seek to protect and expand access to voting for Michiganders, including the state’s Black voters and voters of color, 1.3 million voting-age residents with a disability and voters with limited English language proficiency.
This latest slate of election bills are part of Michigan Democrats’ efforts to establish a state Voting Rights Act and further safeguard elections in a swing state that President Joe Biden won by a small margin of 2.8 percentage points in 2020.
Some of the protections in the proposed legislation focus on prohibiting voter denial, dilution, and suppression in part by establishing a preclearance requirement that would force jurisdictions to prove that changes will not discriminate against voters of color, creating a public database of election and demographic data, lowering the threshold for languages eligible for ballot translation, and creating a system for curbside voting and allowing transportation assistance for voters with disabilities and voters over 65.
In the last few years, Michigan has become a national leader in election policy, said Kim Murphy-Kovalick, program manager of the pro-democracy group Voters Not Politicians. Voter-led efforts in Michigan have helped end partisan gerrymandering, expanded voter registration, and mandate a minimum number of secure drop boxes in early voting for all statewide and general elections, she said.
At the same time, Michigan is a large state with a decentralized election administration, with about 1,600 county, state, and township clerks across the state.
“There can still be a lot of variation in how clerks enforce these policies,” Murphy-Kovalick added. “The Michigan VRA will help voters by making it easier to know what policies are in place for their local election and by giving voters a path for recourse if those policies aren’t followed.”
Part of the Michigan VRA would also increase the number of jurisdictions required to translate ballots and election information into languages other than English.
It is an accommodation that would “greatly benefit communities with high numbers of non-English speaking voters,” Murphy-Kovalick said.
This story was originally published by PBS Newshour. Read more here: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/preserving-democracy/2024/04/15/in-michigan-new-bills-seek-to-expand-voting-rights/