Michigan Legislature Advances Slate of Pro-Voting Reforms Implementing 2022 Ballot Measure
UPDATE: On Tuesday, July 18, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed the package of bills into law.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, June 14, the Michigan House and Senate both passed a package of eight election bills implementing large parts of Proposition 2, a ballot measure passed with wide support by voters in November 2022. Proposition 2 is a constitutional amendment that called for numerous pro-voting changes within the Michigan Constitution.
The eight parallel bills passed their respective chambers yesterday. Now, the bills must pass the other chamber before going to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) for her signature. Collectively, the bills would require a minimum of nine days of early voting, create a permanent mail-in voting list, provide for more ballot drop boxes and expand photo ID options, among other measures.
“We are writing a historic new chapter for voting in the state of Michigan…Despite those who push contrived chaos, Michiganders overwhelmingly want to reduce barriers to their ballots and increase access to voting,” said Sen. Jeremy Moss (D), the main sponsor of the bill package.
Although the ballot measure was adopted into the Michigan Constitution last fall, the Legislature must now pass bills implementing the language. The Legislature already advanced other bills to implement the amendment, including a bill that expands absentee voting for service members overseas, which was signed into law by Whitmer last month.