LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Michigan Republicans are working to amend the constitution and change the documents you use to register to vote. House Joint Resolution B (HJR-B) works like the federal SAVE Act to require proof of citizenship.
To register to vote in michigan you can use any valid photo ID, including a driver’s license, federal, state, or local government-issued ID, a U.S. passport, or a military, student, or tribal photo ID.
To change Michigan’s voting laws, the public would have to vote to amend the constitution. The proposed changes would mean you could only use a U.S. passport or birth certificate to register. Representatives Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth) and Stephen Wooden (D-Grand Rapids) led a conference Tuesday to discuss Democrats’ concerns.
“This poll tax that the house republicans tout around as the solution to preventing a handful of non-citizen voters would actually prevent 10s of thousands of illegally eligible voters from exercising that right,” Koleszar said. “Michigan’s working families shouldn’t have to pull $30 to $165 out of their gas and grocery budgets to have a say in who represents them.”
HJR-B was introduced by Majority Floor Leader Brian Posthumous (R-Cannon Township), and endorsed by the Speaker of the House Matt Hall (R-Richland Township). After the Democrats conference, Hall said it’s a simple concept that many people could agree with. House Democrats still maintain that any changes go against Proposal 2-2022, and are unnecessary because it’s already illegal for a noncitizen to vote.
“We can all agree that only American citizens should be voting in our elections, but this resolution doesn’t accomplish this,” said Wooden. “Instead, all it does is block the right to vote, force citizens to pay for the right to vote, and foster more chaos and confusion.”
In particular, Democrats feel this would impact married women whose names are different than what is listed on their birth certificate, rural residents who have longer distances to travel to obtain the necessary documents with more limited hours, or low-income people who can’t afford to replace their documents.
In committee, republicans said that isn’t the intention of the legislation, and the state would take on the expenses, but haven’t introduced a funding plan to do so. As it is, the legislation would saddle anyone who has changed their name or lost the necessary documents with extra fees.
HJR-B still has to see a vote in the full House and Senate before it will be placed on the ballot for michigan voters to decide. House leadership said if it doesn’t pass, they’ll begin the work to collect signatures for a citizen-led ballot initiative.
