Senate Democrats go back to work to increase voter turnout

State Sen. Steven Bieda, D-Warren, is on a mission to ensure voting is easier and more convenient for Michigan residents.

On January 20 he introduced Senate Bill 49 that will allow no reason absentee voting. The Democratically-controlled House approved House Bill 4367 by a vote of 79-30 with 12 Republicans joining the entire Democratic caucus in approving the bill last session, but like the previous session, it died because the Republican-controlled Senate refused to take it up.

Under current Michigan law, there are only six reasons for A/B voting: age 60 years old or older, unable to vote without assistance at the polls, expecting to be out of town on election day, in jail awaiting arraignment or trial, unable to attend the polls due to religious reasons or are appointed to work as an election inspector in a precinct outside of your precinct of residence. If SB 49 becomes law, Michigan will join 28 other states that allow no reason A/B voting.

On Jan. 26, Bieda introduced SB 76 that would require the Michigan Secretary of State to develop a website which would allow electronic voter registration. Voters would also be able to update their registration records online.

“The intent of this legislation is to make it easier for Michigan residents to register to vote,” Bieda said. “Why should a person who moves be required to submit a written change of address? Numerous states run a secure online registration program without problems.”

Both bills were referred to the Senate Committee on Local Government and Elections were they are awaiting action.

Bieda has a history of working on election reform and trying to increase voter turnout and make democracy easier. There sessions ago when he was in the House, he sponsored House Bill 5792 that would allow 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote when they get their first driver’s license. The bill was approved on May 8, 2008 with a bipartisan vote of 88-18, but it died because the Senate refused to take it up. A similiar bill, HB 4261, was also approved with an even larger bipartisan vote of 92-19 in May 2009, but the Senate also refused to take it up.

These bills had the support of the Republican Michigan Secretary of State, The Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, The Michigan Association of County Clerks, the Michigan Municipal League and The League of Women Voters.

“I think we need to do whatever it takes to encourage voters to get to the polls and ensure their voice in government is heard,” Bieda said. “This is a no-brainer, and something that would ease the burden of registering to vote.”

Senate Republicans have a history of blocking voter reform, despite widespread support. That’s one reason they continue to keep a majority in the Senate.

It’s ironic that they block every attempt to make voting easier, yet they want to make it easier to get and carry a handgun.

SOS candidate Benson reiterates her support for early voting in Michigan

The Democratic candidate for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced today her intentions to take an “Oath of Nonpartisanship” win she is elected as the next Secretary of State and takes office in January 2011.

“I firmly believe that our Secretary of State must operate the office in a nonpartisan manner,” Benson said at the annual meeting of the Oakland County Women Officials’ Network on Friday. “That's why upon taking office I will take an Oath of Nonpartisanship, pledging to the citizens of Michigan that I will operate the office in a neutral and nonpartisan fashion.

“To Michigan voters that means you won't find me co-chairing any campaigns or endorsing any candidates in elections over which I will serve as the final certifier of election results,” Benson said. “Michigan citizens deserve to have full confidence that their elections are clean, honest and fair.”

Benson also took the opportunity on Friday morning to reiterate her support for Early Voting in Michigan.

“A citizen casting a vote is the lifeblood of our democracy,” she said. “In these tough economic times, when some families are having to work more than one job to make ends meet, early voting options help them to still be able to vote and be heard.”

Citing a recent Michigan League of Women Voters poll that showed 70 percent of Michigan voters support efforts to make voting more convenient, supporting early voting and no reason absentee voting. Benson said she wanted to make sure that Michigan citizens enjoy the same types of access to voting that citizens enjoy neighboring states.

That’s in sharp contrast to the Republican SOS candidates. Cameron Brown and Michele McManus voted against an amendment on no reason absentee voting after Senate Democrats forced a vote in March. GOP Secretary of State candidate Ruth Johnson wants to make it more difficult for voters to cast their ballots, and she is calling on county clerks and state leaders to withdraw an early voting proposal.

As one of Michigan’s leading election law experts, Benson has worked to eliminate barriers to voting and preserve the integrity of our elections throughout the state. In 2007 she successfully led an effort to block the closing of a Secretary of State branch office in Buena Vista Township, convincing the United State Justice Department that the closure violated the Voting Rights Act. During the 2008 election, she was called to testify before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, where she called on Michigan Secretary of Secretary Terri Land to ban the use of foreclosure lists to challenge voters’ eligibility on Election Day.

After earning her B.A. at Wellesley College, she began her career at the Southern Poverty Law Center, investigating hate groups and hate crimes throughout the country. She earned an M.Phil as a Marshall Scholar at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, and subsequently earned her law degree from Harvard Law School.

Benson is currently a law professor at Wayne State University Law School, she not only teaches Election law, she has also published the first major book on the role of the Secretary of State in enforcing election and campaign finance laws. Benson's book, "State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process," highlights best practices of Secretaries from throughout the country and seeks to inform voters about how Secretaries of State from either side of the political spectrum can work to advance democracy and election reform.

Despite widespread voter support, Senate Republicans continue to block voting reform

A statewide poll sponsored by the non-partisan League of Women Voters and the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks found a whopping 70 percent of Michigan voters believe the Legislature should pass bills to make it easier for them to cast ballots,but the bottleneck, as usual, continues to be Senate Republicans.

No reason absentee voting and early voting have widespread and bipartisan support, including Republican Secretary of State Terri Land. The telephone survey of 600 representative people found support for both reforms did not drop below 55 percent in any of the poll’s 29 demographic segments — whether it be gender, partisan affiliation,age, geography, ethnicity, frequency of absentee voting, occupation or the presence of children in the household, according to a story in the Downriver News Herald.

Still, Senate Republicans continue to block any type of voter reform that will increase voter turnout and make it easier to vote.

The Democratically-controlled House passed no reason absentee voting with bipartisan support in April of last year, but the Senate has refused to take up the bill the last two sessions. In fact, they have not even held a single committee hearing on any voting reform measure.

The House approved early voting in December of 2008 that would allow the polls to be open on Friday, Saturday and Monday before each election. Guess where that bill died?

The House also approved House Bill 4261 in May 2009 with a bipartisan vote of 92-19 that would allow 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote when they get their first driver’s license, but it has sat in the Senate without a hearing for more than a year.

Enough is enough. Call or email your state Senator, and tell them to support the will of the people and move these common sense reforms.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization with more than 150,000 members and supporters nationwide that has fought since 1920 to improve our systems of government and impact public policies through citizen education and advocacy. Its simple mission is to encourage informed and active participation in government, work to increase understanding of major public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

The purpose of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks is to promote, enhance and encourage the professional development and standing of municipal clerks; encourage improvement of methods and procedures of duties performed by clerks; and to address legislative matters relating to their responsibilities.

SOS directs her criticism for blocking voting measures to the wrong side of the Capitol

Republican Secretary of State Terri Land, according to subscription only Gongwer, “blasted the Legislature on Wednesday for focusing almost exclusively on budget issues and not acting on other pressing issues.”

"My frustration is the same as every other organizations; the unions and everyone else,” she told Gongwer. “Nobody is getting any legislation passed. It's very frustrating.”

She said she would like to see action on proposals she has made for real-time campaign finance reporting, but there is no legislation pending. She told the other subscription service covering Lansing, MIRS, that before she leaves office at the end of the year, she would like to see legislation creating a two-week early voting window and no-reason absentee voting and a bill creating electronic vehicle tabs passed.

The fact is the Democratically-controlled House has approved early voting and no reason absentee voting, but the Republican-controlled Senate refuses to act on them. The House also approved bills allowing 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote, but the Senate also refuses to move on it, too.

It seems Ms. Land’s needs to address her criticism to her side of the aisle and to the Senate side of the Capitol. Republicans have blocked every single attempt to make it easier and more convenient to vote and increase voter turnout.

In fact, two of the three Republican candidates for Secretary of State are members of that obstructionist Senate, and are against every attempt to make voting convenient.

House bills will allow residents to register to vote online

LANSING – House Democrats continue to eliminate barriers to voting and make it easier for residents to register to vote and to discharge their duty as U.S. citizens and vote.

On Wednesday the House Ethics and Elections Committee took testimony on two bills that will allow residents to register to vote online. As more people go online to pay bills, pay their taxes and get their news, this is a natural. The committee took testimony on House Bills 4539 and 4540, and they are expected to vote them out to the full House floor next week.

Thanks to House Democrats, Michigan is again becoming a leader in removing barriers to vote. If the bill becomes law, Michigan would follow Arizona and Washington as just the third state in the nation offering online voter registration. Michigan was one of the first states to adopt motor voter registration.

If approved, a person who was not registered to vote at the address where he or she was residing could submit a voter registration application electronically on the website. A person who submitted an application electronically would have to do all of the following:
Attest to the truth of the information provided on the voter registration application by affirmatively accepting the information as true.
Affirmatively assent to the use of his or her most recent digitized signature if captured or reproduced by the Secretary of State.
Sign the voter registration application with an electronic signature.

Amendments to enhance security are expected, but the bills have the support of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, Michigan Townships Association and Michigan Association of County Clerks.

The legislation, however, faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled Senate, and forward looking bill designed to make it easier for people to vote have been met with silence in that chamber, even though they have the backing municipal clerks and the Republican Secretary of State.

Bills sent over from the House so far include no reason absentee voting, early voting and allowing 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote.

SOS candidate wants to make it harder for people to vote

Common sense says the primary job and responsibility of the Michigan Secretary of State is to ensure the ease and security of elections. Somebody better tell that to Sen. Michelle McManus, R-Lake Leelanau, one of the GOP candidates for Secretary of State.

In a mass email touting her endorsement by RNC committee person Holly Hughes, McManus says she “has stood up against proposals like no-reason absentee voting, pre-registration of 16-year-olds and early voting.” In other words, she opposes every measure to make it easier to vote and increase voter turnout.

Those commons sense measures were approved by the House this year, but the GOP-controlled Senate refuses to take them up. However, current Republican Secretary of State Terri Land supports those measures. In fact, Land – who is also a Republican caudate for Lt. Governor in 2010 - told the House Committee on Ethics and Elections in June that she would help move the bills to the Senate floor for a vote.

No-reason absentee voting has widespread support, and those supporting it include The Michigan Election Reform Alliance, The Michigan Election Coalition, The League of Women Voters, The Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, The Michigan Municipal League, The Michigan Campaign Finance Network, The Michigan Association of County Clerks, The Michigan Townships Association, Common Cause Michigan and The Michigan Nonprofit Association.

I guess McManus is not concerned about getting the endorsement of groups like The Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks or The Michigan Association of County Clerks.

Because the nomination for SOS comes at the party convention, McManus has to play to the GOP base, which has taken an extreme right turn, and she threw them some red meat with this ditty: “As a state Senator, Michelle has been the firewall against legislation tailor-made to make it easier for groups like ACORN and Moveon.org to manipulate our elections.”

First, when has ACORN and Moveon.org ever manipulated any election? I know ACORN is the biggest boogyman for right-wingers, and they have been accused of every crime under the sun. But what they are really guilty of and why the right hates them so much is because they register poor people to vote.

It’s funny that the reason Land gives for registering 16-year-olds: because she says it’s much better than registering them to vote when age 18 by outside groups, but in her endorsement, Hughes claims McManus has the “right experience to build on the success of the Land and Miller legacies.”

Apparently not.

Brown tries to rescue SOS campaign with unnecessary bills

LANSING – Sen. Cameron Brown, R-Sturgis, introduced a package of bills Wednesday to address a problem that doesn’t exist and could decrease voter turnout, but more importunately it was a feeble attempt to jump starts his flagging campaign for Michigan Secretary of State.

Legislation usually does not single out one group or individual, but Senate Bills 690-694 targets the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, better known as ACORN. ACORN is nation’s largest grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people dedicated to building community organizations that are committed to social and economic justice, and ACORN it accomplishes that important mission through negotiation, legislative advocacy and voter participation. “ACORN helps those who have historically been locked out become powerful players in our democratic system.” Hence, they are hated by the Republican Party and a convenient whipping boy and scapegoat for the Republicans.

Brown’s bills law are unnecessary because penalties already exist for turning in fraudulent registration forms. In fact, in 2008 Attorney General Mike Cox brought charges against a single member of ACORN for basically padding his paycheck.

Brown’s bills would prohibit groups conducting voter registration drives from establishing quotas or paying bonuses to employees based on the number of registrations collected. Brown said voters registration forms were turned in around the country for “Mickey Mouse, Jimmy Johns, and the entire starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys.” ACORN provides jobs to people and many state chapters pay them for each registration form turned in.

Brown and the Republicans conveniently ignore the fact that most state laws require the organization to submit all registration forms filled out despite being flagged as fraudulent, and in fact ACORN flagged the forms with the names Brown points out. Plus, Mickey Mouse and Jimmy John never cast a vote in 2008.

Brown and the Senate Republicans need to stop playing politics and playing to the base in order to win the GOP SOS nomination and pass real election reform they are sitting on that was approved in the House, such as no reason absentee voting, early voting, allowing 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote and allowing any clerk to verify the identity of a voter who registers by mail.

Land contradicts GOP Senate and supports voting measures

LANSING – Apparently, Secretary of State Terri Land is at odds with Senate Majority Mike Bishop and the Senate GOP caucus on election issues.

Land testified before the House Committee on Ethics and Elections on Wednesday and she supports measures the House Democrats have passed, but the Senate refuses to move.

The House approving no reason absentee voting with bipartisan support last month, but the Senate has refused to take up the bill the last two sessions. Committee member Kim Meltzer, R-Clinton Township, has been the leading GOP mouthpiece for opposing the common sense measure that will increase voter turnout, and she tried to get Land to buy into the GOP’s flimsily excuse that it increases voter fraud. Land refuse to bite, and she said there has been no prosecution of voter fraud during her almost eight year tenure. She also said reforms she supports, like an electronic poll book, will make voter verification easier.

Land referred to Chris Thomas, the Director of Elections for many years, who said there has been no cases of voter fraud in regard to A/B that he is aware of.

“Where we generally see fraud is when people get their ballots, and campaigners show up their porch, and voters feel they are being strong-armed,” he said.

Land said, in contrast to her GOP colleagues, she supports early voting and allowing 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote; something Meltzer objected to. Land said it’s much better than registering them to vote when age 18 by outside groups. Land said it would not be an issue with local clerks, and they would not see them on their voter file until age 18.

“I think it’s the best way to do it,” Land said. “They are already there with their birth certificate when they get their driver’s license.”

Committee Chair Rep. Kathy Angerer, D-Dundee, asked Land for her help in getting some movement on the bills she supports.

“We are having a terrible time moving these items with your colleagues in the Senate,” she said. “Would you be wiling to help in the Senate?”

Land said she would.

“It took 20 years to get election consolidation,” she said. “I sure hope it does not take another 20 years.”

No reason absentee voting approved with bipartisan support

LANSING -- The Michigan House of Representatives struck a blow for voters Thursday by approving no reason absentee voting with bipartisan support.

The House approved House Bill 4367 by a vote of 79-30 with 12 Republicans joining the entire Democratic caucus in approving the bill.

Under current Michigan law, there are only six reasons for A/B voting: age 60 years old or older, unable to vote without assistance at the polls, expecting to be out of town on election day, in jail awaiting arraignment or trial, unable to attend the polls due to religious reasons or are appointed to work as an election inspector in a precinct outside of your precinct of residence. If the Republican-controlled Senate approves the bill, Michigan will join 28 other states that allow no reason A/B voting. However, they killed a similar bill last session by refusing to even allow a vote on it.

The bill will certainly increase Michigan’s abysmal average 25 percent voter turnout. A recent U.S. Census survey said more than 7.5 million people said they did not vote because of “logistical reasons.

Republicans have been against the measure for many years, and their reason is strictly political. The drumming they have taken in the last few elections and the recent defections from the GOP, such as Sen. Arlen Specter, its not surprisingly they are against it.

Among the many groups supporting no reason A/B voting are The Michigan Election Reform Alliance, The Michigan Election Coalition, The League of Women Voters, The Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, The Michigan Municipal League, The Michigan Campaign Finance Network, The Michigan Association of County Clerks, The Michigan Townships Association, Common Cause Michigan and The Michigan Nonprofit Association.

The only one is really against it except, apparently, the 30 Republicans who voted against it. The GOP claims they are against it because of voter fraud, but that simply isn’t true. If that were the case, then why are The Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks and the Michigan Association of County Clerks supporting it? If fraud was a problem, why are they supporting it? They would see the alleged fraud before anyone else.

It’s funny to see how the GOP is falling apart. The official unofficial GOP blog - wrong Michigan - attacked the 12 Republicans who voted for the bill. One of the 12 was my state Representative, Rep. Cindy Denby, R-Handy Township.

I don’t agree with her on a lot of issues, but I know her from covering the township for three different newspapers and she is above reproach. The reason she supported it may be that she was the township clerk responsible for running elections, and then she was the Township Supervisor.

Republicans oppose no reason A/B voting with no reason

LANSING -- Michigan Republicans continue to resist any attempt to increase voter turnout and make it easier for citizens to cast their ballots.

The House Committee on Ethics and Elections voted two bills out of the committee to the full House along party liens on Wednesday that allows no reason absentee voting. There are only six reasons for A/B voting in Michigan: age 60 years old or older, unable to vote without assistance at the polls, expecting to be out of town on election day, in jail awaiting arraignment or trial, unable to attend the polls due to religious reasons or are appointed to work as an election inspector in a precinct outside of your precinct of residence.

There is no doubt that no reason A/B will increase voter turnout, and at least 28 other states allow it.

“It’s amazing that in a country where the cornerstone of democracy is the vote, we do not do everything in our power to make it easier for people to vote,” said Rep. Kathy Angerer, D-Dundee, the chair of the committee. Angerer has been mentioned as a possible candidate for Secretary of State, but she has not spoken publicly about it.

Local clerks who run elections have been in support of A/B voting for years, and the numerous municipal and voting advocacy groups lined up in support of the bills was impressive.

Among those supporting no reason A/B voting are The Michigan Election Reform Alliance, The Michigan Election Coalition, The League of Women Voters, The Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, The Michigan Municipal League, The Michigan Campaign Finance Network, The Michigan Association of County Clerks, The Michigan Townships Association, Common Cause Michigan and The Michigan Nonprofit Association. The only people opposing the bill are the House and Senate Republicans.

Evan Hope, the Chair of the Legislative Committee for the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, said no reason A/B is the association’s top priority right after early voting. He said people who don’t meet the six conditions for getting an A/B should not have to lie to get one.

“We see it all the time when people come into our office,” he said. “They hesitate, and some have to lie and some just say I hope I can find the time to vote.”

The bills passed out of the committee were House Bill 4097 sponsored by Rep. Martin Griffin, D-Jackson, and HB 4367 sponsored by Rep. Woodrow Stanley, D-Flint. The bills are basically identical, and it’s unusual that identical bills are moved on together. In fact, a Republican member of the committee asked about that. Griffin is a candidate for the vacant 19th District Senate seat up for election in November, and Senate Republicans will not approve anything with his name attached to it.

Angerer knows that firsthand. Angerer unseated an incumbent Republican when she won her first term in 2004. Republicans, who controlled the House then, were so incensed that she wore a target on her back for two years, and Republicans refused to let her even get the simplest of resolutions passed.

“I want to give the Senate the best opportunity to vote on this and pass it regardless of the sponsor,” she said.

No reason was given for the Republican’s opposition. Reasons floated in the past for opposition has been corruption and fraud, but that was not brought up during the hearing. None of the numerous clerks or voting advocates were asked about that or brought it up.

GOP SOS candidates keep up roadblock to voters

LANSING – You would think the job of the Michigan Secretary of State is to increase vote turnout and make it easier for people to vote, but not Republican SOS candidates Cameron Brown and Michele McManus.

On Wednesday, the Senate Democratic Caucus forced a vote on a tie-bar of no reason absentee voting to a bill by Sen. Tony Stamas, R- Midland, intended to provide relief for incorrect nominating petition info from SOS. The bill was defeated along party lines, including Brown and McManus. Apparently, McManus’s only objection to the bill is that Democrats favor it; telling the official mouthpiece of the state GOP, “rightMichigan,”
“Anything the Democrats want so badly, I am naturally suspicious of and almost always opposed to. I get a little nervous when I hear people start talking about some of these "voter convenience" issues, like no-reason absentee voting.”

The Senate Republicans have pulled out all the stops to defeat it in the past. The House approved it last session.

No-reason absentee voting has widespread support, including from the Michigan Municipal Clerks Association (MMCA) and numerous other groups. Twenty-eight states currently have no reason absentee voting legislation, with three additional states permitting in person voting prior to Election Day. Among the many groups and people in support of his common sense measure is Republican Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, perhaps the most partisan SOS in Michigan history.

“Democracy is not a partisan issue, and any discussion of election reform or voting equity should include No Reason Absentee Voting,” said Sen. Liz Brater, D-Ann Arbor, the sponsor of Senate Bill 97 that enacts no reason A/B. “If we’re willing to amend the Michigan Election Law as it relates to certain candidates for judicial offices, why wouldn’t we also undertake efforts to make voting more accessible for all residents.”

Current Michigan law says the are only six reasons for absentee ballot voting: age 60 years old or older, unable to vote without assistance at the polls, expecting to be out of town on election day, in jail awaiting arraignment or trial, unable to attend the polls due to religious reasons or are appointed to work as an election inspector in a precinct outside of your precinct of residence.

House passes early voting bill that will not get by Senate Republicans

The Michigan House continued its quest to improve voter turnout and make it easier for people to exercise their Constitutional right to vote. This time, the House approved a bill that will allow early voting in Michigan.

On Thursday, the House approved House Bill 4090 by a vote of 58-50 that will allow Michigan the same convenience we saw voters in other states enjoy. The common sense measure gives local clerk's plenty of leeway in how to do it.

The polls will be open on Friday, Saturday and Monday before each election. The clerk's office is already required to be open on the last Saturday before the election to collect absentee ballots, so it's just an extra two days. The clerk only has to open one polling place, instead of all the precincts, which could just be the local township, village or city hall where the clerk is already. It also only requires the polling place to be open for eight hours a day, and the clerk can pick the hours.

This will increase voter turnout by being open for working people on the weekend. The problem is this bill is tie-barred to HB 4048, a bill to allow people to vote with an absentee ballot for no reason. But the Republican-controlled Senate has jumped through hoops to disentrance voters, and it refuses to allow a vote on HB 4048, that was just approved by the House in September, as well refusing to act on the Senate version.

The Senate has been the biggest obstacle to getting anything passed, and it took one more step in that direction this week.

Thursday was the last scheduled session day during the Lame Duck session, and all bills not passed by the end of the month are dead. There are three tentative session days scheduled for next week, and three the week of Dec. 16. But when the Senate adjoined on Thursday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, surprised the entire Senate when he said the Senate will not come back until Wednesday instead of Tuesday, meaning there is now only a maximum of five days left to accomplish some major legislation.

The House was in session from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in an attempt to address this major legislation, but Bishop's ego is again holding the state hostage.

According to subscription only MIRS and Gongwer, Bishop said the Senate will not address any legislation until Gov. Jennifer Granholm issues her budget-cutting Executive Order. But the Governor has said all along she wants to wait on cuts in light of plans for a federal stimulus package, as well as talks on cuts with legislative leaders. Why not have an agreement or a consonance in place on cuts before an EO with cuts is issued.

You will have to ask Bishop's ego.

Senate Republicans maneuver to disenfranchise voters

LANSING – Senate Republicans used a sneaky procedure to block Senate Bill 12 that will allow people to vote with an absentee ballot for no reason and disenfranchising Michigan voters.

Sen. Liz Brater, D-Ann Arbor, made a motion to have her bill discharged from the Campaign and Election Oversight Committee to the floor Thursday, but the majority floor leader made a motion that was approved along party lines to pass the items for the day. Of course, this is the last session day until the Lame Duck session after next moth's General Election.

Democrats wanted the bill to be approved so voters can take advantage of the new law before the election when massive lines are expected at the polls next month.

"This means that the voters in Michigan will be at a disadvantage compared to the 28 other states that allow no reason absentee voting," Brater said. "We know that long lines at the polls will turn people way from voting, and the interest in the Presidential Election will increase turnout."

Last month the Michigan House passed House Bill 4048 that will allow Michigan voters to vote with an absentee ballot for no reason. Republicans continue to oppose it as part of their strategy to keep voter turnout low.

"The people of Michigan were outmaneuvered by the Senate today, and its' a sad day for voters," said Sen. Gilda Jacobs, D-Huntington Woods, Minority Vice-chair of the Campaign and Election Oversight Committee.

Current Michigan law allows people to vote A/B for only six reasons: age 60 years old or older, unable to vote without assistance at the polls, expecting to be out of town on election day, in jail awaiting arraignment or trial, unable to attend the polls due to religious reasons or are appointed to work as an election inspector in a precinct outside of your precinct of residence. Passage of HB 4048 and SB 12 will do away with that requirement.

The bill has widespread support. Those in support of the bills include the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, the Michigan Association of County Clerks, the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, the Michigan League of Women Voters and the Michigan Townships Association. Only the Republican Secretary of State is neutral on the bill.

No reason absentee voting gets OK in the Michigan House

LANSING – The Michigan House passed House Bill 4048 sponsored by Rep. Martin Griffin, D-Jackson, on Thursday with a bipartisan vote of 65-41 that will allow Michigan voters to vote with an absentee ballot for no reason.

Current Michigan law allows people to vote A/B for only six reasons: age 60 years old or older, unable to vote without assistance at the polls, expecting to be out of town on election day, in jail awaiting arraignment or trial, unable to attend the polls due to religious reasons or are appointed to work as an election inspector in a precinct outside of your precinct of residence.

Michigan will join 28 other states that allow no reason A/B voting if the bill becomes law. The bill has widespread support. Those in support of the bill include the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, the Michigan Association of County Clerks, the Michigan Association of Municipal, the Michigan League of Women Voters and the Michigan Townships Association. Only the Republican Secretary of State is neutral on the bill.

It will most likely stall in the Republican controled Senate in an effort to keep voter turnout small. A recent U.S. Census survey said more than 7.5 million people said they did not vote because of “logistical reasons." Sen. Liz Brater, D-Ann Arbor, introduced the companion bill in the Senate, SB 12, but that is stalled.

Surprisingly, or not surprisingly, Livingston County's own Rep. Chris Ward, R-Brighton, was one of those against it. He said there were "too many loopholes and ballots are more subject to voter fraud under a no-reason absentee voting system." I have no idea what voter fraud he is talking about, but the former Brighton Township Clerk has flip-flopped on the issue. He now said he favors early voting.

In the last session he sponsored HB 4569 that was approved by the House on April 25, 2005 and sent to the Senate where all bills go to die. The bill allowed no reason A/B in person for seven days before the election.

In 2003 he introduced HB 4058 that went no where in the then GOP-controlled House. It was basically a no reason A/B bill. It proposed to change the provision that said a person may vote A/B if the voter "is not confident he or she will be available to attend the polls on election day" instead of "is absent or expects to be absent from the township or city in which he or she resides during the entire period that polls are open for voting on the day of an election."

Groups push for no reason absentee voting

LANSING – With voter turnout at an anemic rate often below 25 percent across Michigan, logic says any attempt to improve that number in a country that prides itself on Democratic elections would be welcome, but that does not seem to be the case with no reason absentee voting.

Members of the Senate Democratic Caucus held a press conference Tuesday in front of the state Capitol surrounded by members of the Michigan Municipal Clerks Association (MMCA), various advocacy groups, working people and mothers. The message was simple: an absentee ballot any time, any place for any voter.

“Workers of the state don’t always know if they will be able to vote because they may have an extra shift or get called in to work on Election Day,” said Sen. Liz Brater, D-Ann Arbor. “I go door-to-door all the time and have people tell me they're sorry but they can’t vote because they have to work.
“I also don’t want to see anyone disenfranchised because they can’t stand in that long line,” she said.

Brater introduced Senate Bill 12 that will allow no reason A/B voting way back when the legislative session opened in January 2007, but it has been bottled up in the Senate Committee on Campaign and Election Oversight. Brater hopes Michigan will join 28 other states that allow no reason A/B voting, and she hopes the ground swell of support, similar to the grassroots support that got the smoking ban bill out of committee, will work with SB 12.

“We urge you to contact Sen. (Michelle) McManus (Chair of the committee) and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop to urge them to take up the bill and give it a hearing,” she said.

Macomb County Clark Carmella Sabaugh recently made news when she was ordered by the Michigan Court of Appeals to stop sending A/B applications to every county resident age 60 or older.

“There is no reason for anyone not to be able to vote absentee,” she said. “The state can take your taxes by mail, why can’t you vote by mail?”

Sen. Gilda Jacobs, D-Huntington Woods, Minority Vice-chair of the Campaign and Election Oversight Committee, praised Sabaugh’s actions.

“You have done some very courageous things in your county with absentee voting,” Jacobs said.

A/B voting will increase voter turnout, and people are hard-pressed to find a reason why anyone would be against no reason A/B voting. It is not a Democrat or Republican issue, but for some unknown reason some Republican so-called leaders are opposing it. Jacobs said in a recent U.S. Census survey, more than 7.5 million people said they did not vote because of “logistical reasons,” and in Macomb County voter turnout increased 40 percent after Sabaugh mailed out A/B applications to all senior citizens. It’s much cheaper to mail out an A/B ballot for the price of a 42-cent stamp than to pay $4.20 for a gallon of gas to drive to the poling place to stand in line and vote.

“People ask why anyone would be against no reason absentee voting: that’s a good question,” Jacobs said. “People say it will cause problems for clerks, but the clerks are here to say it doesn’t.”

Current Michigan law says the are only six reasons for A/B voting: age 60 years old or older, unable to vote without assistance at the polls, expecting to be out of town on election day, in jail awaiting arraignment or trial, unable to attend the polls due to religious reasons or are appointed to work as an election inspector in a precinct outside of your precinct of residence.

“We have all been in the situation when a voter comes into our offices to fill out a A/B application, and they freeze when they come to the part that asks for a reason,” said Evan Hope, the Vice-President of the MMCA and the Clerk in Delhi Charter Township.

Supporter of no reason absentee ballot does flip-flop

One of the biggest supporters of “no reason” absentee ballots did a flip-flop and voted against it the House Ethics and Elections committee last week, apparently in the name of keeping voter turnout low.

Last week the committee voted out House Bill 4048, introduced on Jan. 22 by Rep. Martin Griffin, D-Jackson, that will allow anyone to get an absentee ballot at their local clerk’s office for no reason. Currently, there are only six reasons that the law allows people to vote absentee, including a physical disability and requires assistance when attending the polls, has religious tenets that prohibit attendance at the polls, is an election precinct inspector in another precinct, is 60 years of age or older, will be absent from home on election day or cannot attend the polls because of being in jail awaiting arraignment or trial. This bill will allow anyone to get an absentee ballot.

But Subscription only MIRS reported that Rep. Chris Ward, R-Brighton, “no longer supports no reason absentee voting by mail, a change that could make an
upcoming vote on the issue break down along party lines.” Ward is the House Minority Floor Leader and the former clerk in Brighton Township, and as such he is “the leading GOP caucus voice on elections and related reforms.”

"We've spent $10 million on new voting machines that catch people's mistakes so they can correct them," Ward told MIRS. "The vast majority of spoiled ballots we see now are absentee voter ballots. A lot of people who mail their ballots in never even realize they won't be counted.”

Ward seems bent on keeping voter turnout down, a move unusual for any former clerk. With voter turnout not much over 30 percent of registered voters we should be eliminating barriers that keep people from voting not throwing more up. It was Ward that introduced a resolution that asked the Michigan Supreme Court to review the poll tax law that required a picture ID card to vote. On July 18 the Supreme Court voted 5-2 to disenfranchise a large number of voters when it upheld a 1996 law passed by Republicans that requires voters to show photo identification before casting their ballots.

It seems funny that Ward would have this change of heart when you look at who is endorsing this bill. Those supporting it include The Michigan Campaign Finance Network, The Michigan Association of County Clerks, The Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, The League of Women Voters of Michigan and the Michigan Townships Association. When Ward was the clerk in Brighton Township he was also the President of the Livingston County Association of Municipal Clerks, which is also a member of the state association that supports this bill. The problem is Ward when Ward was the president of the local clerks association he was also the chair of the Livingston County Republican Party, and that party loyalty has always outweighed any other consideration.

When Ward was the chair of the House Oversight, Elections and Ethics Committee when Republicans controlled the House, he sponsored House Bill 4569 that would allow no reason absentee voting, and it was passed 57-51 on April 19, 2005. To show how much things have not changed in Lansing in the more than two years since the bill passed the House it died in the GOP-controlled Senate when it failed to act on the bill. Apparently, the Senate acts on neither bills sent to it by Republicans or Democrats.

Ward again introduced the same bill in the current session a few months after Griffin’s Bill when he introduced HB 4508 on March 22.

There is one big difference between Ward’s bill and the bill passed out of committee. Griffin’s bill allows everyone the same right to vote absentee, but Ward’s bill only allows you to get the bill with an ID card and then you must vote the ballot right there in the clerk’s office. How privacy is protected is apparently not one of Ward’s concerns.

What really explains the difference in these two bills is who supports them. The Republican Secretary of State, of course, supported Ward’s bill, but it’s neutral on Griffin’s bill. The League of Women Voters supports both bills, but the Michigan Association of County Clerks only supports Ward’s bill in concept where it has unqualified support for Griffin’s bill.