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.
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson added the check box on ballot applications in February and the legislature passed a bill allowing her to do that later that spring. But Snyder vetoed the bill in July, saying it would create voter confusion. The check box still appeared on ballot applications for the August primary.
A federal ordered Johnson to stop the practice before the Nov. 6 election.
The change now includes an opening statement on applications that declares citizenship, alleviating confusion and removing the need for a separate citizenship checkbox, Snyder said in a statement released late Friday.