Legislative Update: It’s a Lot

After the 2022 elections (our first with independently and transparently drawn maps!), voters elected pro-democracy majorities in both the Michigan House and Senate. That’s when Voters Not Politicians staff and volunteers got started, putting countless hours into championing pro-voter policies to the legislature. 

The short version is: we’ve had a lot of wins in some areas (Prop 22-2 implementation and funding, Secure Automatic Voter Registration, AI regulations, and election worker protections) and we’ve still got some work to do in others (prison gerrymandering, guns at polling places, ethics and transparency).

Here’s a rundown of the legislation that has successfully passed, and what we’ll continue working on in 2024.

Big Voter Wins: 

Legislation previously signed or on its way to the governor’s desk

Proposal 22-2 Implementation

• HB 4695 & SB 367 Outlines procedures for clerks to administer 9 days of early voting. 
• HB 4697 & SB 372 Requires at least 1 drop box for every municipality, with a minimum of 1 for every 15,000 voters, with equitable distribution. 
• HB 4698 & SB 373 Updates photo ID requirements to include student ID, tribal ID, or local government ID.
• HB 4699 & SB 369 Creates a permanent absentee ballot list that allows registered voters to have a ballot mailed to them for each election by submitting a single, signed application.
• HB 4700 & SB 370 Requires that absentee ballot applications & at home ballots have pre-paid postage included, contains signature matching and ballot curing guidelines for clerks, and allows signatures to be cured for three days after election day.
• SB 590 and SB 591. Provides guidance to candidates who seek to contest election results.
• SB 570 Instructs election officials to appoint a designee to conduct and supervise audits under certain circumstances.
• HB 4437 Provides $46 million of historic funding for implementation of Proposal 2. This includes funding for early voting, drop boxes, and prepaid postage. 

Artificial Intelligence and Deepfake Political Advertising Disclosure

• HB 5141, HB 5142, HB 5143, HB 5144, HB 5145 Requires a disclaimer on political advertisements that contain audio, images, or videos that were generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI), and create penalties for trying to use deepfakes to deceive and influence voters within 90 days of an election.

Election Worker Protections

• HB 4129 & HB 4130 Makes it a criminal offense to intimidate an election worker or prevent them from doing their job.  

Secure Automatic Voter Registration (SAVR) 

• HB 4983 Provides for secure, automatic voter registration when a qualified voter interacts with certain qualified government agencies. 

Pre-registration for 16 and 17 year olds

• HB 4569 Provides for qualified 16 and 17 years olds to pre-register when they interact with a government agency like Secretary of State, automatically upgrading in the Qualified Voter File upon 18th birthday (does not allow for anyone to vote at the age of 16 or 17 yrs. old).

Removing References to Challenged Ballots

• PA 184 Eliminates the requirement that the ballots of some voters who register within 14 days of the election be prepared as challenged ballots.

Expanded Online Voter Registration

• SB 594 Modifies and expands eligibility requirements for online registration processes, updates accessibility requirements.

Repeal Rides to the Polls

• PA 185 Repeals the ban on paid rides to the polls.

Work Left to Do: 

Restrict Guns at Polling Places 

• HB 4127 Prohibits possession of firearms at polling places.
• HB 4128 Prohibits firearms within 100 feet of an absentee ballot counting board.
  PASSED BY HOUSE; NEXT STEP: SENATE

Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA)

• SB 529 Amends the process for canvassing, certifying, and appointing presidential electors; clarifies recount procedures for presidential candidates; aligns Michigan law with federal law.
  HEADING TO THE GOVERNOR’S DESK FOR SIGNATURE

Prison Gerrymandering

• SB 494 Requires incarcerated individuals to be counted as residents of their last home address for the purpose of redistricting. 
  IN SENATE ELECTIONS COMMITTEE; NEXT STEP: FULL SENATE

State Voting Rights Act

• SB 401, SB 402, SB 403, SB 404 The Michigan Voting Rights Act will extend protections to voters by requiring disability access, language access via translated voting materials and ballots; will ensure that changes that reduce ballot access require pre-clearance; will create a voting and elections database.
  IN SENATE ELECTIONS COMMITTEE; NEXT STEP: FULL SENATE

National Popular Vote

• SB 126 & HB 4156 Adds Michigan to the National Popular Vote Compact.
  PASSED BY HOUSE ELECTIONS COMMITTEE; NEXT STEP: FULL HOUSE

Proposal 22-1 Implementation

• SB 613, SB 614, SB 615, SB 616 Requires annual public financial disclosure statements from state representatives, state senators, the attorney general, the governor, the lieutenant governor, the secretary of state, and candidates of these offices. Spousal reporting in-name-only, requiring spouses of candidates and certain public officials to disclose their spouse’s place of work and whether they have business before the State. No spousal assets or meaningful financial information disclosed, falling far short of the federal standard.
  HEADING TO THE GOVERNOR’S DESK FOR SIGNATURE

Freedom of Information Act

• SB 0669 & SB 0670 Expands the Freedom of Information Act to include the legislature and the governor’s office. 
  INTRODUCED IN SENATE; NEXT STEP: COMMITTEE HEARING

We acknowledge that the Proposal 22-1 package passed by the legislature goes above the floor set by Proposal 22-1, including mandatory disclosures from candidates – a critical addition that allows voters to make informed decisions during elections. The omission of personal financial disclosure of spouses and dependents of elected officials and candidates is disappointing, but this first step is an improvement. So much more can and should be done to bring Michigan from worst to first in government integrity. 

We are already preparing to work with this pro-democracy legislature on further reforms, including increasing regulations on lobbyists and restricting conflicts of interest. All that in addition to continuing to support other pro-voter bills through the legislative process. 

One thing is for sure: Voters Not Politicians legislative advocacy team will be just as busy fighting for voters in 2024!