LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Senate on Thursday approved legislation introduced by Sen. Kevin Daley that would protect the integrity of elections in Michigan.
“The people of Michigan need to have confidence that their elections are being conducted honestly, and that they can trust the results — win or lose,” said Daley, R-Lum. “With the secretary of state’s recent decision to mail absentee ballot request forms to every name on their lists, we need to increase efforts that ensure our elections are not compromised.”
In May, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced that she would spend federal coronavirus dollars to mail absentee ballot applications to each of the state’s 7.7 million registered voters.
“There is a lot of concern about election integrity within our system right now,” Daley said.
Senate Bills 977 and 978 would make it a felony for someone to knowingly submit another person’s name or personal identity information on a ballot application or knowingly submit an absent voter ballot application with the intent to attempt to obtain multiple ballots.
“Elections are an important part of our form of government and we need to take them seriously. Our government is based off the idea that the people choose their elected voices,” Daley said. “This is a good step toward decreasing illegal activity and protecting the integrity and security of our votes. This legislation makes it clear that anyone who tries to rig our elections will have to pay the price for their actions.”
SBs 977 and 978 now move to the Michigan House of Representatives for consideration.
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