The Headlines
There have been two major developments in the push by anti-voter politicians to restrict voter registration: a vote in the US House last week on the SAVE Act and today’s Michigan Board of State Canvassers (BOSC) meeting on the Committee to Protect Voters’ Rights petition.
Last week, the US House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 22, known as the SAVE Act. The 220 lawmakers who voted in support of the voter suppression bill include all seven Republican members of Michigan’s congressional delegation. All Michigan Democratic Congressional representatives voted no.
And this morning, the Michigan Board Of State Canvassers voted to approve a 100-word summary for the so-called Committee to Protect Voters’ Rights petition, paving the way for the committee to begin collecting signatures to get the measure on the ballot.
Voters Not Politicians continues to lead the grassroots resistance to these attacks on our voting rights. This morning, we gathered objectors inside the BOSC meeting to protest the misleading summary proposed by the Committee to Protect Voters’ Rights. And on Saturday, we led hundreds of protestors in statewide rallies against the SAVE Act.
The Details
- The Committee to Protect Voters’ Rights is advancing their petition to amend the Michigan constitution to restrict voter registration and roll back Michiganders voting access. This morning they appeared before the Board of State Canvassers requesting approval of the 100-word summary of the petition.
- The 100-word summary that appears at the top of a ballot initiative petition must be prepared by the director of elections, and approved by the Board of State Canvassers. The summary is required to be true and impartial, and can’t “create prejudice for or against the proposal.”
- VNP Director of Programs Mariah Bryant gave public comment at the meeting, asserting that the summary proposed by the Committee to Protect Voters’ Rights “hides the fact that eligible Michigan voters will face tremendous difficulty obtaining the proof of citizenship documents the proposal would require, and that there is no clear path of how to prove your citizenship if your birth certificate doesn’t match your current legal name.”
- VNP volunteers also filled the meeting room to give comment against the proposed summary.
- The BOSC voted to approve a summary based on the draft summary submitted by the Department of State’s Director of Elections, with some changes made by the Board during the meeting.
- “Constitutional amendment to: add requirement to verify citizenship by showing a birth certificate, passport, and/or other documents for voter registration; eliminate affidavit alternative for those without photo-ID when voting; add requirement to provide photo-ID, or driver’s license or partial social security number to receive or vote an absentee ballot; require Secretary of State to review voter rolls to verify citizens and remove non-citizens using documents in government records; prohibit counting ballots from voters without citizenship documents and photo-ID unless voters show documents within 6 days after election; require hardship program for obtaining required documents at state expense.”
- Unfortunately, the petition summary approved by the BOSC still doesn’t make clear that many eligible Michigan voters will face tremendous difficulty obtaining the proof of citizenship documents the proposal would require. Failing to include this vital information prejudices potential signers in favor of the proposal.
- Voters Not Politicians organized nearly one thousand protestors to rally outside of 11 congressional offices across Michigan on Saturday. This statewide Day of Action built on the work Voters Not Politicians has done over the past several months to educateand mobilize grassroots supporters of voting rights.
- Over two-thirds of attendees were new to VNP, which shows the salience this issue has with voters, even those outside of our typical audience of highly engaged activists.
- In interviews with WLNS News, protestors in Lansing and Jackson shared their concerns about marginalized communities who are more likely to be disenfranchised by the SAVE Act and other documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) policies.
What’s Next
Voters Not Politicians is preparing to expand our efforts to fight back against attacks on our voting rights at all fronts.
We will be out in force combatting the Committee to Protect Voters’ Rights petition by alerting voters that the petition is an underhanded attempt by politicians and special interests to pick and choose which voters are allowed to participate in our elections.
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