Michigan: State starts the process of obtaining new voting equipment | MLive

After more than a decade, Michigan voting booths are in line for an upgrade. Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson announced Thursday the state is starting the process of replacing the election equipment that has served the state for more than 10 years in the state’s 4,800 precincts. On Thursday, the state began the process of taking proposals from election equipment vendors. The state is seeking upgraded voting systems that still use a paper ballot. The proposals need to be in by early September. “The voting equipment Michigan voters use each Election Day has served us well over the past decade, but there’s no question it’s starting to show its age,” Johnson said in a statement. “I thank Bureau of Elections staff and local election officials for their efforts to begin the process to replace the equipment before we start to see wide-scale issues with the aging equipment.”

Editorials: It’s time to make no-reason absentee voting available to all Michiganders, without restrictions | Jon Sherman/MLive.com

Election Day is the time eligible Michiganders are able to exercise one of their most fundamental American rights: the right to vote. It’s the time when voters have a chance to make their voices heard. But sometimes life gets in the way on Election Day. Maybe you’re working a long shift and can’t take time off to get to your polling place; maybe you don’t have reliable transportation; maybe you or your kids get sick and you aren’t able to leave the house. Sometimes we just don’t have time to get to the polls, but that doesn’t mean we don’t deserve to have our voice heard. Imagine that instead of having to plan ahead and wait in line at the polls on Election Day, you could cast a ballot without having to leave your home. It would certainly make voting more convenient and would help in building a democracy that represents all people in our state.

Michigan: No-reason absentee voting a no-go in Senate | MLive.com

Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson’s new no-reason absentee voting proposal, introduced by the head of the House Elections Committee, appears to be a no-go in the Senate. Sen. Dave Robertson, who chairs the Senate Elections Committee, said he does not support the proposal and would not take it up in his committee if it were to advance out of the House. “I believe that Election Day is a focal point in our electoral process for candidates, and I don’t want to diminish the value,” Robertson, R-Grand Blanc Township, said Thursday.

Michigan: With ‘stamp of security,’ no-reason absentee voting would require in-person ID | MLive.com

More Michigan residents could vote by mail — but they’d have to apply in person — under a new no-reason absentee ballot bill backed by Secretary of State Ruth Johnson. Johnson, testifying before the House Elections Committee on Tuesday, said the state is ready to join 27 others that allow no-reason absentee voting, “but with Michigan’s stamp of security.” House Bill 4724 would allow a registered voter who doesn’t otherwise qualify for an absentee ballot to obtain one by visiting his or her local clerk, filling out an application and showing a state identification card. A potential amendment would allow voters without an ID to sign an affidavit of identity.

Michigan: August ballots sent to printer without Flint’s as election-fix bill passes Senate | MLive.com

The ballots for August primary election races in Genesee County were approved and sent for printing Tuesday, May 19, with no Flint ballots included. The Genesee County Election Commission validated ballots and voted to send them to a printer the same day the State Senate approved a plan to allow Flint mayoral candidate names to appear on the August primary. “We’re moving forward, we’re doing our job,” said Genesee County Clerk John Gleason, who sits on the Election Commission alongside Probate Judge Jennie Barkey and County Treasurer Deb Cherry, who was absent from Wednesday’s vote.

Michigan: Clerks warned over ballot application | Associated Press

The Michigan elections bureau has issued a warning about problems with a new Democratic Party program that lets voters apply online for absentee ballots, saying clerks are getting applications for voters who live outside the jurisdiction and signatures that do not match voter records. The late Monday alert to local election administrators statewide, obtained by The Associated Press, also cites concerns about duplicate applications and applications without signatures. “These issues raise concerns with the program’s accuracy and reliability and place unsuspecting voters in jeopardy of being disenfranchised,” according to the memo that describes the program as “unapproved” and asks clerks to quickly report problems to the state. The elections bureau is housed within Republican Secretary of State Ruth Johnson’s department, which confirmed to the AP that the alert had been sent.

Michigan: Conyers discounts conspiracy theory behind challenges to keep him off primary ballot | The Detroit News

U.S. Rep. John Conyers said Thursday he doesn’t believe he fell victim to a conspiracy to bounce him from the ballot and end his storied political career. The Detroit Democrat was removed from the Aug. 5 primary ballot for not having enough valid petition signatures before a federal judge Friday restored him to the ballot over concerns Michigan’s election law may be unconstitutional. Conyers, 85, hired family friend and political consultant Steve Hood to handle the petition gathering. Hood has since publicly apologized for not checking the voter registration status of the circulators he hired — a mistake that initially disqualified hundreds of signatures and may have cost Conyers his congressional career. “I know the whole Hood family,” Conyers told The News Thursday. “I know his father, his brother. I know the church. It was very painful.”

Michigan: Federal judge orders Conyers back on Aug. 5 ballot | The Detroit News

A federal judge threw U.S. Rep. John Conyers a political lifeline Friday, ordering the Detroit Democrat onto the Aug. 5 primary ballot because his lawsuit to overturn a Michigan election law is likely to succeed. Judge Matthew Leitman’s ruling allowing Conyers to join challenger Horace Sheffield on the primary ballot capped a whirlwind day for the longest-serving African-American in Congress, as he seeks a 26th term in office. A report released earlier Friday by Secretary of State Ruth Johnson agreed with Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett that Conyers was ineligible to run and found he fell more than 540 signatures short of the 1,000 needed to qualify for the ballot. But Leitman, in a 22-page ruling, said Conyers and two petition circulators whose signatures were disqualified have a “substantial likelihood of success” in showing Michigan’s requirement for circulators to be registered voters law is unconstitutional and ordered Conyers on the ballot “because time is of the essence.”

Michigan: Judge to rule on Conyers’ case Friday after ballot status decision | The Detroit News

A federal judge said Wednesday he would make a ruling Friday afternoon in an “exceptionally difficult case” that may help determine the political future of U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman, an appointee of President Barack Obama, indicated from the bench he wants to make a quick ruling on the constitutional issues involving the Detroit Democrat’s ouster from the Aug. 5 primary ballot. There are two weeks left until the June 6 deadline when Secretary of State Ruth Johnson must certify candidates for the ballot. Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett last week threw the Detroit Democrat off the ballot after disqualifying hundreds of signatures for Conyers’ candidacy because of voter registration problems with his circulators.

Michigan: Snyder: State of State won’t repeat pledge for easier absentee, voter registration | The Detroit News

Gov. Rick Snyder will set the tone for his re-election campaign and preview upcoming budget battles in tonight’s State of the State address. He is expected to talk about education, discuss what to do with a projected $1 billion surplus, renew the quest for more permanent road repair money and dwell on his accomplishments. What won’t be included is a repeat of his pledge from last year to join Secretary of State Ruth Johnson in seeking no-reason absentee voting and online voter registration — initiatives that are not popular among the Republican legislative majority. “I don’t think that’s something I’m going to emphasize because there was some effort to do that last year that didn’t work,” Snyder said in an interview Tuesday at the North American International Auto Show. “There’s a limited opportunity window, and given that it’s an election year, I think there are other things that will be priorities.”

Editorials: Make it easier for Michigan to vote absentee | Detroit Free Press

Voter turnout in Michigan’s last presidential election was 63%, better than the national average of about 57%, but far below turnout in Georgia, at 72%, or Maryland, 74%. The difference between the states? Georgia and Maryland are among the 28 states that allow something called “no-reason absentee voting.” In Michigan and in 21 other states, voters who would like to vote absentee must present a reason to be allowed to do so. To receive an absentee ballot a voter must be 60 or older, unable to vote at a poll without assistance, plan to be out of town, in jail awaiting arraignment or trail, working as an election inspector or unable to vote at a poll for religious reasons. And because Michigan is also one of a small number of states that don’t offer early voting, folks who can’t make the wait have few options.

Editorials: Secretaries of State: A Key Front in the Battle to Protect Voting Rights | Steve Rosenthal/Huffington Post

Across the country we are witnessing a wholesale attack by the right wing on workers, unions, women’s health, the environment, LGBT issues, civil rights, immigration and nearly every other right, protection and civil liberty that Americans hold near and dear. In recent years, Republicans have invested in and won key state legislative victories, which has resulted in lopsided redistricting that will make the work for progressives even more difficult at the state and federal level for years to come. At the cornerstone of the GOP strategy is an assault on voting rights in state after state, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in this country in decades. The right wing understands that their views are out of step with the rapidly increasing progressive majority in America — women, people of color, union members, LGBT and young voters. And the only way they can win is by attempting to prevent this new progressive majority from voting. If we are to turn things around, finding new ways to defend fair and equal access to the ballot must be a top priority for progressives.

Michigan: Investigation Sought Of Non-Citizen Voting In Michigan | Associated Press

Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson says she’s asked the state Attorney General’s office to investigate 10 people who aren’t U.S. citizens but have voted in past Michigan elections. In a letter to Attorney General Bill Schuette, Johnson said they were referring the cases “for  investigation, and if appropriate, prosecution. The law is clear – you must be a U.S. citizen to register to vote and to  vote on Election Day,” Johnson said in a statement. “We have races that are decided on a  handful of votes, and ballots cast by ineligible voters cancel out those by legitimate voters.”

Michigan: Tuesday’s ballot applications will have new citizenship language | Observer

When residents of the Livonia school district vote Tuesday on a $195 million bond proposal, they may notice a slight change on their ballot application. Under Michigan law, by signing the application, the voter certifies that he or she is a U.S. citizen. The revised application forms also remind voters that they must be citizens in order to vote. Secretary of State Ruth Johnson successfully pushed to add new language to the ballot application to make clear that only U.S. citizens may cast ballots. Tuesday’s election will be the first to use the new language approved by the Legislature.

Michigan: Election official seeks more transparency | The Morning Sun

Michigan’s top elections official wants to require political campaigns to report financial contributions within 48 hours after they receive them, one of several proposals aimed at giving voters nearly real-time information about the money behind the candidates. As part of this week’s observance of National Sunshine Week, an initiative aimed at improving government transparency, Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said she is working with lawmakers to draft legislation and push through some long-elusive changes to the state’s campaign finance system. Under current law, voters often have to wait months before being able to access critical information about contributors to groups funding the candidates. “That’s a long time not to have that information, with lots of voting going on and lots of decision making,” she said.

National: Rep. Miller opposes voting reforms | The Detroit News

President Barack Obama called Tuesday for a national commission to study ways to make it easier for Americans to vote, but one former Michigan secretary of state didn’t like the idea. Voting issues have been debated in Michigan with confusion over a citizenship checkoff on ballot applications and Gov. Rick Snyder and Secretary of State Ruth Johnson calling for changes to make it easier to register and cast absentee votes. “We must all do our part to make sure our God-given rights are protected. That includes our most fundamental right as citizens: the right to vote,” Obama said in the State of the Union. Obama said he’s appointing top members of his re-election campaign and the campaign of GOP nominee Mitt Romney to head up the commission.

Michigan: Clerk: No-reason absentee voting to become reality with governor’s support | Source Newspapers

After hearing Gov. Rick Snyder call on the Michigan Legislature to address the issue during his State of the State Address, Shelby Township Clerk Stanley Grot says he remains confident that it is “just a matter of time” until no-reason absentee voting becomes a reality. “Approximately two months ago, I called on Secretary of State Ruth Johnson and the Michigan Legislature to implement no-reason absentee voting in the state of Michigan,” Grot said in a statement. “Since then, I have spoken with Johnson, Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh, State Rep. Peter Lund and the office of Gov. Snyder. I have found that to some degree, everyone I spoke to believes no-reason absentee voting is common-sense government reform and should be implemented promptly.”

Michigan: Snyder to push for online vote registration, no-reason absentee voting | The Detroit News

Gov. Rick Snyder announced Wednesday that he and Secretary of State Ruth Johnson are teaming up to ask for legislation allowing Michiganians to register to vote online and to vote absentee without a reason — such as disability or being out of town — up to 45 days before Election Day. Johnson said her office has been updating its software over the past three years to allow for the voting changes and to accommodate more frequent campaign finance reporting, another goal on which she is working with Snyder. She didn’t speculate Wednesday night after the governor’s State of the State address on the chances of approval from the Legislature, which has been leery of liberalized voting rules. “We want to make it convenient and secure for everybody,” Johnson said.

Michigan: Voters must affirm citizenship on ballot application under bill signed by Snyder | Detroit Free Press

Voters won’t have to check a box affirming that they’re U.S. citizens when they go to vote in the future. But there will be a sentence on ballot applications affirming U.S. citizenship that every voter will have to sign before they get a ballot. After vetoing similar legislation in July, Gov. Rick Snyder signed a bill late Friday that requires the citizenship affirmation to be included on ballot applications. The amendment was included in a separate bill at about 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 14 in the final hours of legislature’s lame duck session.

Michigan: New law requires Michigan voters to affirm U.S. citizenship | wzzm13.com

Voters must declare they are qualified to vote before getting a ballot under a bill signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder. The Republican governor signed legislation Friday containing that requirement and other election law changes. Representatives for Snyder and Secretary of State Ruth Johnson say the leaders worked out concerns that led to his veto of similar legislation this summer.

Michigan: Michigan Secretary of State urges clerks to replace forms that have U.S. citizenship question | Detroit Free Press

The Michigan Secretary of State’s Office is recommending that municipalities use applications to vote that don’t contain the U.S. citizenship question for the Nov. 6 election. The state is encouraging clerks to use older versions of the small forms — on which voters fill out their name, address and date of birth — without the question or obtain an adequate number of new forms without it, according to a Wednesday bulletin sent to clerks. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Paul Borman in Detroit granted a permanent injunction ordering Secretary of State Ruth Johnson to keep the question off the forms. But ordering new forms could cost clerks. New forms cost about $600 in Rochester Hills, City Clerk Jane Leslie said. She said her office personnel and election aides started to obscure the question on the forms but said new forms were ordered to avoid any problems. She said the question was blackened out on all applications for absentee ballots. “It’s much simpler to replace those forms,” she said. “We want to make it as simple as possible and limit disputes.”

Michigan: Voting rights coalition argues against citizenship check box on Michigan ballots | Detroit Free Press

There will be a “hitch” in the voting process if U.S. citizenship check boxes are used on ballot applications at the polls during the Nov. 6 presidential election. That’s the crux of an argument by a voting rights coalition that is challenging the use of the check boxes and is asking a federal judge in Detroit to issue a preliminary injunction to stop Secretary of State Ruth Johnson from requiring the boxes on ballot applications. “Our evidence shows there will be many jurisdictions where the voters will not be asked to check the citizenship box, others where they will be asked if there is no injunction,” Mary Ellen Gurewitz, an attorney for the coalition argued today before U.S. District Court Judge Paul D. Borman. “There will be this hitch.”

Michigan: Secretary of State Ruth Johnson ordered to appear in court for hearing in voting case | Detroit Free Press

A federal judge has ordered Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson to appear in court on Friday for a hearing over her plans to require the use of citizenship check-off boxes on voter applications statewide for the Nov. 6 presidential election. Johnson’s office filed an emergency motion Monday asking U.S. District Judge Paul D. Borman to allow her director of elections, Christopher Thomas, to be substituted in her place at the hearing in Detroit. As of Wednesday, the judge had not ruled on that request, court records showed. An accompanying brief lists two reasons for the request: that Johnson has 11th Amendment immunity and that she should not be compelled to testify where a lower-ranking official has the requisite authority and knowledge.

Michigan: Citizenship question ordered off Michigan voter form | The Detroit News

A federal judge late Friday ordered Secretary of State Ruth Johnson to remove a U.S. citizenship question from ballot applications for the Nov. 6 election, citing inconsistent enforcement and potential “confusion” at the polls. “It really is a burden on the right to vote in terms of slowing things down, in terms of confusion,” U.S. District Court Paul Borman said in ruling from the bench after a six-hour hearing. Johnson, a Republican, said she was disappointed by the judge’s ruling. She questioned why she was hauled into court Friday and defended the citizenship question as a tool to root out noncitizens on the voter rolls. “This is an education tool that we found that works,” Johnson told reporters.

Voting Blogs: Thousands of Non-Citizen Voters? It’s Déjà Vu in Michigan | Brennan Center for Justice

Michigan’s Secretary of State is joining a growing trend among state elections officials: Declare that thousands of non-citizens are registered to vote and then use those allegations to justify efforts that confuse, intimidate, and in some cases purge eligible voters on the eve of the election. But similar claims about ineligible voters in Florida and Colorado were debunked within a matter of weeks after being publicly disclosed. So why is Sec. Ruth Johnson jumping on the bandwagon, saying there are 4,000 non-citizens registered to vote? Is there something different about Michigan? Almost certainly not. To quickly recap: In Florida it was initially asserted that as many as 180,000 potential non-citizens were registered to vote. Claims of registered non-citizens in Colorado were smaller, but still in the thousands — over 11,000. But as time went by, these lists decreased in size. In Florida, 180,000 morphed into 2,600 and later into 198, while in the Centennial state 11,000 shrunk to 3,900 and then to 141. The final numbers represent thousandths of a percent of all registered voters in each state. But Michigan is a different state. Perhaps Johnson has learned from these fiascos and developed a more reliable and efficient system for identifying the extremely small percentage of non-citizens who may be on the rolls? Unfortunately, no.

Voting Blogs: Thousands of Non-Citizen Voters? It’s Déjà Vu in Michigan | Brennan Center for Justice

Michigan’s Secretary of State is joining a growing trend among state elections officials: Declare that thousands of non-citizens are registered to vote and then use those allegations to justify efforts that confuse, intimidate, and in some cases purge eligible voters on the eve of the election. But similar claims about ineligible voters in Florida and Colorado were debunked within a matter of weeks after being publicly disclosed. So why is Sec. Ruth Johnson jumping on the bandwagon, saying there are 4,000 non-citizens registered to vote? Is there something different about Michigan? Almost certainly not. To quickly recap: In Florida it was initially asserted that as many as 180,000 potential non-citizens were registered to vote. Claims of registered non-citizens in Colorado were smaller, but still in the thousands — over 11,000. But as time went by, these lists decreased in size. In Florida, 180,000 morphed into 2,600 and later into 198, while in the Centennial state 11,000 shrunk to 3,900 and then to 141. The final numbers represent thousandths of a percent of all registered voters in each state. But Michigan is a different state. Perhaps Johnson has learned from these fiascos and developed a more reliable and efficient system for identifying the extremely small percentage of non-citizens who may be on the rolls? Unfortunately, no.

Michigan: Detroit will remove citizenship box from ballot applications, defies Secretary of State Ruth Johnson | MLive.com

The city of Detroit plans to remove a citizenship question from ballot applications before the November election – another direct challenge to the Republican secretary of state’s authority to require the check-off box. “There’s no mandate,” Detroit Elections Director Daniel Baxter told MLive on Wednesday. “The governor vetoed that part of the bill. There’s no legal requirement for electors to declare their citizenship when they go to vote. That’s the bottom line.” Election workers will black out the box ordered by Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, he said. Johnson spokeswoman Gisgie Gendreau said Johnson still expects local clerks to use the form prescribed by her. She said Detroit’s elections bureau – at the request of the state elections bureau – agreed on Wednesday to hold off on covering up the citizenship box until a federal judge rules in a related lawsuit. Baxter could not be reached for comment late Wednesday afternoon.

Michigan: Secretary of state defends citizenship question on ballots | The Detroit News

Secretary of State Ruth Johnson’s office said Tuesday implementation of a new citizenship affirmation at the polls has gone “relatively smoothly” in response to a federal lawsuit challenging the ballot application question. Johnson, a Republican, responded Tuesday to a federal lawsuit filed last week by the ACLU of Michigan, SEIU, the Ingham County clerk and others challenging her authority to ask voters to affirm their citizenship before they vote. In the middle of the August primary, Johnson’s office backed away from its previous instructions to deny people ballots for refusing to answer the question amid confusion about her authority to impose the question — one month after Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed a bill Johnson sought to add the citizenship question to state law.

Michigan: Court Challenge Filed Over Ballot Citizenship Checkbox | Huffington Post

A voting rights coalition is taking Michigan’s Secretary of State to court over a controversial citizenship checkboxthat appeared on primary ballots across the state this past August. The group filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Ruth Johnson Monday in federal court. The coalition includes the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, UAW International, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development (LA SED), Ingham County Clerk Michael Bryanton, and registered voters from East Lansing, Shelby Township, and Buena Vista Township. “The Secretary of State may be the chief election officer in the state, but she is not above the law,” Kary L. Moss, executive director of the ACLU of Michigan, said in a release. “By ignoring the administrative rule-making and legislative processes, she has thumbed her nose at the electorate and flouted the very laws she was elected to uphold. We can all agree that it should be easier to vote and harder to cheat, but cynical voter suppression tactics should not be tolerated.”