CHRISTINE FERRETTI, THE DETROIT NEWS
Some citizen groups and nonprofits Tuesday expressed confusion and surprise over a new requirement at the polls that required voters to declare their citizenship.
Before obtaining ballots, registered voters were asked to check a box declaring they are a U.S. citizen. Voters seeking an absentee ballot saw the same question on applications.
Under the Michigan Election Law, voters have to swear under oath they are an eligible voter — which includes U.S. citizenship — when they apply to vote and it is verified by the Secretary of State’s or local clerks’ offices when the application is processed.
Critics call requiring verification at the polls a “redundant” waste of tax dollars.
“Requiring voters to affirm their citizenship, again, at the polls on Election Day and on absentee voter ballot applications is a solution in search of a problem,” Melanie McElroy, Executive Director of Common Cause Michigan, said in a statement Tuesday. “This new requirement will only confuse long-time voters who affirmed their citizenship when they registered to vote for the first time.”
The Michigan Legislature is considering a bill, sponsored by Sen. Darwin Booher, R-Evart, which requires voters to affirmatively state their citizenship before receiving a ballot at the polls. The bill passed the Senate and was referred to the House Elections and Redistricting Committee. Critics say Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson appears to be implementing an election bill prior to it being signed into law.
“The legislative process would be meaningless if politicians could enforce the bills they like,” Katy Flanagan, Project Vote’s Director of Election Administration, said in a statement. “Our goal is to ensure no eligible voter is turned away from the polls. To protect everyone’s right to vote, our election officials must enforce existing laws, not proposed legislation.”
But Gisgie Gendreau, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Secretary of State, said it’s within the department’s policy to implement this requirement. The pending bill will codify that in the Legislature, she added.
“This is another measure that the department felt was necessary,” she said. “It’s part of the department’s efforts to make sure we have a secure and fair election.”
Gendreau said clerks statewide were notified of the added requirement in November by the state’s Bureau of Elections. This is the first election in which the citizenship question was added to the application at the polls. Gendreau said if voters refuse to answer the question they will still be issued a ballot.
Gendreau said there as at least one case Tuesday of a voter in Kent County who answered “no” to the question and were advised not to vote.
“You do have to be a U.S. citizen to vote,” she said. “This is a precaution. We want to make sure also that we protect anyone who may have accidentally or unknowingly have registered to vote who is not qualified to do it. It’s a federal offense and they could face deportation.”
Oakland County’s Democratic Party Chairman Frank Houston said he was almost denied a ballot Tuesday after refusing to sign the question at his polling location in Royal Oak.
Houston said he did vote, but his ballot was marked as “challenged.”
“This is clearly a solution looking for a problem that just doesn’t exist in Michigan,” he said. “We don’t have a rampant problem with undocumented workers in Michigan.”
Read the original Detroit News report here.