LANSING, Mich. – Volunteers from Voters Not Politicians testified today against a package of bills that would make it much harder for residents to exercise their right to vote.
“Once again, politicians are trying to choose their voters instead of having voters choose their politicians, by passing a package of bills that would make it much harder to vote,” said Nancy Wang, Executive Director of Voters Not Politicians.
Michigan saw its largest ever voter turnout in 2020. Efforts by some groups to allege fraud have been refuted time and again by legislative committees, judges in multiple cases and investigations by reporters.
Wang called on lawmakers to be leaders and refute accusations that the 2020 election was anything other than fully secure and fair. In her comments, she specifically mentioned SBs 273, 278 and 286, questioning why lawmakers want to add unnecessary regulations and mandates to dropbox use intended to restrict use of them, by increasing the cost to local governments through mandated security cameras and by limiting their use on Election Day.
“As a nonpartisan organization, VNP’s goal is to work with lawmakers regardless of party, to advance laws that serve all voters. An example is our work over the last two years with the four legislative leaders in both chambers and both parties to craft a comprehensive ethics, transparency and accountability package that is now before the House,” Wang said.
“But these Senate bills move us backward and threaten the foundation of our democracy. VNP will be informing voters all across this state and in every district about these bills. And we will fight in every venue to protect the constitutional rights of every eligible voter to cast their ballot easily and securely,” she said.
These bills come on the heels of a historically successful election, where Michigan voters made their voice clear about election reform issues. A supermajority of Michigan voters – 67% – supported expanding access to the ballot through the Promote the Vote Proposal 3 ballot initiative in 2018. More than 5.5 million Michiganders exercised their constitutional right to vote in the 2020 presidential election — the most ever and the highest percentage of voting-age residents to cast a ballot in 60 years. Of those voters, 3.2 million cast their ballot by absentee. Over 250 audits at state and local levels showed that this election was safe, secure, and accurate.
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Voters Not Politicians is a nonpartisan advocacy organization that works to strengthen democracy by engaging people across Michigan in effective citizen action. Learn more at www.votersnotpoliticians.com.
