The Michigan Senate passed a series of election integrity bills on Thursday, sending them to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) desk for a predicted veto.
The bills, part of a 39-bill package making its way through the legislature, “would limit who can access Qualified Voter File, prohibit poll books from being connected to the internet, require specific training for poll challengers and change how municipalities decide where to hold polling locations,” Mlive reported.
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Michigan Republicans are launching a citizen initiative to implement election reforms after the 2020 vote, WWMT reported.
The legislature has been making progress on a package of 39 bills that would require photo ID to vote, and provide proof of ID when submitting an absentee ballot application, among other things. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), whose signature would be required to enact the potential law, has vowed to veto the legislation.
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The Michigan Republican Party is seeking to remove Aaron Van Langevelde, the GOP member of the Board of State Canvassers who voted to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
Van Langevelde cast the deciding vote to certify on Nov. 23, after many Republican operatives and Michigan state legislators pushed to delay. The other Republican member, Norm Shankle, abstained after initially saying that he would vote against certification.
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The chair of the Michigan Democratic Party accused Republicans of “voter suppression” after the Republican National Committee announced a $10 million effort to defend current election laws.
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Security concerns and staff turnover continue to plague the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office, according to recent reports.
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Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) aired his first ad of the campaign Saturday, which uses a line straight out of his opponent’s playbook.
The minute-long ad first aired Saturday during the Michigan-Michigan State basketball game and features Peters’ wife, Colleen, discussing her husband’s military service.
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President Donald Trump plans to visit an auto parts supplier in Michigan Thursday, a day after he is scheduled to sign a new North American trade agreement.
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A Michigan bill that would require every executive branch department and division to post the salary and benefit information of their employees unanimously cleared its first hurdle Thursday. House Bill 5015 easily cleared the House Oversight Committee and is now on its way to the House Ways and Means Committee for consideration. Under the bill, the Department of Technology, Management and Budget would be required to make public on the state’s website the “function, contact, and employee salary information for each executive branch department and each major division or sub-unit within the department.” “This information must be accessible to the public at no cost,” the bill adds. According to Rep. Ryan Berman (R-Commerce Township), sponsor of the bill, residents seeking to obtain salary information “must go through a burdensome Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process in order to receive it.” “Having this information readily available up front removes the response time and effort needed to fulfill these individual requests and will free up government departments to serve people more efficiently,” he said in a statement. Berman believes that his bill would “make state government more accountable to the taxpayers who fund it,” pointing out that the Michigan House already…
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Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Laura Cox singled out Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-08) for her response to the death of Qasem Soleimani.
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