LANSING–Voters Not Politicians today filed an amicus brief in support of the Michigan Secretary of State in Robert Davis v. Jocelyn Benson urging the Court to uphold the authority of the Secretary to mail absentee ballot applications to every registered voter.
“Every Michigan voter has the constitutional right to vote absentee for any reason,” said Nancy Wang, Executive Director of Voters Not Politicians (VNP). “Those seeking to prevent the Secretary of State from sending voters absentee ballot applications would make voting less available and less convenient and impermissibly infringe on the right of voters to cast an absentee ballot.”
The brief, filed on behalf of VNP by Paul Smith, Mark Gaber, and Annabelle Harless of the Campaign Legal Center, and Graham Crabtree of Fraser Trebilcock, reads in part, “It makes no sense, as Plaintiff requests, for the Court to adopt the crabbed reading of Michigan law advanced by Plaintiff[, which] would seriously undermine . . . voters’ rights to cast ballots by absentee ballot. The Secretary is implementing Michigan law by mailing voters absentee ballots, not violating it.”
“It is critical both for American democracy and to protect public health that all voters have the choice to vote absentee for all 2020 elections held during a pandemic,” said Paul Smith, Vice President of the Campaign Legal Center.
VNP launched the VoteSafe campaign to urge the state legislature to take action to implement vote by mail in Michigan to protect public health and the integrity of our elections, while updating our voting system to make sure it is accessible for decades to come. Learn more at www.votersnotpoliticians.com/votesafe.
Click here to read the amicus brief in its entirety.
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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.
