LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Michigan’s Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, is speaking out against the federal SAVE Act. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act was introduced in the U.S House of Representatives in January. Though it hasn’t seen any recent movement, it’s been a hot topic across the country since it was introduced.
The bill would limit the documents you can use to register to vote to a U.S. passport or birth certificate. The goal is to ensure proof of citizenship while registering to vote, but Michigan lawmakers worry the bill acts too broadly.
Benson said cases of non-citizen voting are so rare, policies like this would only prevent eligible voters from registering.
“The president’s allies in Congress have a plan in motion to block millions of American citizens from casting their ballot in future elections,” Benson said. “We are deeply committed to ensuring that every valid, and only valid votes count in every election, and we’ve been successful.”
Benson said the restrictions would overwhelmingly impact married women whose names are different than what is on their birth certificates, seniors who may have lost track of documents, students who may not have easy access to the necessary document, and low-income people who can’t afford a passport or replacement birth certificate. According to American Progress, 60% of Michiganders don’t have up-to-date, valid passports, and a new one costs $130.
Benson said the bill wouldn’t just restrict voter registration, but would also make election officials’ jobs harder and more expensive. Things like voter registration and address updates that are now available online would have to be done in person, requiring more workers and more time.
Benson’s said that with Michigan’s track record, the changes just aren’t necessary, citing a report from MIT’s Election Data and Science Lab which lists Michigan as number 2 in the nation for secure election administration.
“All of us are here because we want to solve problems. We want to learn from our past experiences, to develop sound data-driven policies and adopt best practices that continue and will continue to make michigan’s elections the most secure and accessible in the nation.” Benson said. “The SAVE Act would put all of that in jeopardy. That bill is not about election security. It is a trick because it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote.”
Benson said the one incident of a non-citizen voting in the 2024 election is the first she’s dealt with in her 6 years in office. She’s now working with lawmakers on a Michigan Election Security Act to come up with a more fine-tuned solution, and create additional tools to make it easier to vote, while making it easier for election officials to remove ineligible voter registrations, and catch fraudulent ballots.
