SECURE MI VOTE

Organizers behind two high-profile proposed laws in Michigan skipped a deadline to potentially appear on November’s ballot and will instead look to get the initiatives approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

LANSING, MI – A ballot drive to tighten Michigan voting laws and require voter IDs will not end up on the November ballot, petition leaders announced Wednesday. Instead, circulators will aim for action by the state legislature after finding thousands of fraudulent signatures among its stacks of petitions. In May, the Bureau found so many fraudulent signatures in petitions from five Republican gubernatorial candidates that they were booted from the November ballot. As Secure MI Vote delays, Michigan’s leading voting rights organization – Voters Not Politicians – called Wednesday a good day for the voters of the state. Other petitions going the legislative route like Secure MI Vote include efforts for private school tax credits and to limit state government health emergency powers.

Michigan Republicans' effort to get around Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's vetoes and implement new voting restrictions via a petition drive is set to ramp up this weekend, with a new push to gather signatures in time to meet a late-spring deadline...

LANSING, MI — Senate Democrats introduced a constitutional amendment Thursday that would increase the threshold by which lawmakers can adopt ballot initiatives, an action that keeps citizen-led proposals off the ballot and out of voters’ hands. Senate Joint Resolution N would require a vote of three-fourths of the members in each chamber to enact a law proposed by initiative petition. Lawmakers can currently choose not to act on successful petition initiatives, which sends the proposals to the ballot. Some Lawmakers and groups who routinely use the ballot initiative process have been asking for the tactic to be found unconstitutional ever since, arguing ‘adopt-and-amend’ thwarts the will of the people. Jamie Roe, a spokesperson for Secure MI Vote, didn’t confirm whether the signature gatherer in the video, who identified themselves as being from Florida, is a Secure MI Vote circulator.

The petition in question: Secure MI Vote, a Republican-backed initiative featuring many of the same voter access laws that Gov. There, he and his allies say, Secure MI Vote petitioners are utilizing cheap and disingenuous tactics to sway people. Advocates for Secure MI Vote say the initiative would erase doubts about election integrity in the future. “During our second meeting with SAAP, we had a lot of questions coming back at us about (Secure MI Vote),” O’Neal said. For example, the complete Secure MI Vote petition is six pages long, with narrow margins and a small font size.

There is currently no law prohibiting volunteer or paid circulators from lying to or misleading the public. “It is not illegal for petition circulators to lie, or be intentionally vague or subjective, about what an initiative actually does. Another bill introduced by Sen. Adam Hollier, SB 0607, would ban paying petition circulators by the signature. Related: Unlock Michigan petition effort was ‘sleazy,’ but not illegal, AG saysThe investigation found “clear evidence of misrepresentations by petition circulators and questionable training by persons who recruited and supervised paid circulators,” but the actions didn’t rise to criminal behavior, the attorney general’s office said. READ MORE FROM MLIVE:Petition to repeal emergency powers had forged signatures, misleading language, opposition group claimsUnlock Michigan petition signatures deemed valid

KALAMAZOO, MI — Read petitions before you sign them because circulators aren’t legally obligated to tell you what they do, says a Michigan-based voting rights organization. The group released a video last week showing a petition circulator inaccurately describing Republican-led initiatives including Secure MI Vote, which would significant changes to Michigan’s voter ID laws. Jamie Roe, a spokesperson for Secure MI Vote, didn’t confirm whether the signature gatherer in the video, who identified themselves as being from Florida, is a Secure MI Vote circulator. “I can’t provide answers to accusations I know nothing about,” said Jamie Roe, a spokesperson for Secure MI Vote. Secure MI Vote would remove that option.

A petition from the group "Secure MI Vote" is aiming to circumvent Michigan's regular legislative channels and pass laws restricting many residents' ability to vote....

Despite several reports from government and election officials finding no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, Republican lawmakers and some voters are pushing for tighter voting laws across the U.S. -- including here in Michigan.

LANSING, MI — It may become more difficult for Michigan clerks to find polling places for elections should a petition initiative currently being circulated by Republican supporters and strategists succeed. A provision within the Secure MI Vote petition initiative would take away the ability for churches and other non-government entities to donate the use of their buildings to communities for polling stations.

Despite several reports from government and election officials finding no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, Republican lawmakers and some voters are pushing for tighter voting laws across the U.S. -- including here in Michigan.

LANSING, MI — The Secure MI Vote committee can begin collecting signatures to tighten voter ID laws after the Michigan Board of Canvassers approved the group’s petition language Monday morning. The Michigan Board of Canvassers unanimously approved the form of the petition 3-0 at a meeting Monday. The petition was submitted by Secure MI Vote, a Republican-backed committee looking to add steps and security measures to voting procedures. Secure MI Vote will have 180 days to collect the signatures. The petition form can be viewed in full here.

A controversial, Republican-backed petition drive to restrict voting access in Michigan gained approval Monday, clearing the way for advocates to begin collecting signatures. The Michigan...

A group of Republican operatives in Michigan are launching a ballot drive to change voting and election laws, making it harder to vote for thousands, while evading a potential veto from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Michigan Republicans plan to launch a petition drive that election officials and voting-rights advocates warn will make it more difficult to vote. The petition from...