LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Ruth Johnson and Rep. Rachelle Smit on Thursday introduced legislation to protect the security of voting systems used in the state of Michigan.
“Secure voting systems are vital to ensuring the integrity of our elections,” said Johnson, R-Holly, who serves as Republican vice chair of the Senate Elections Committee and previously served as Michigan secretary of state and Oakland County clerk. “As many of our clerks prepare to update voting equipment within the next few years, it is important to put laws in place to address potential vulnerabilities.”
Senate Bill 468 and House Bill 4720 would prohibit new voting systems in the state from including any parts or equipment from foreign companies that would pose an unacceptable security risk. The bills would also prohibit the Board of State Canvassers from approving any system containing such parts or equipment for use in Michigan elections.
“Components that are barred by federal law from being in our communications networks because they pose a national security risk should not be in our state’s voting systems,” said Smit, R-Martin, speaker pro tempore of the Michigan House of Representatives and chair of House Election Integrity Committee. “This is a commonsense reform to protect our elections from foreign threats.”
Johnson and Smit’s legislation mirrors a federal law passed in 2021 with strong bipartisan support that bars the use of equipment from Huawei, ZTE and several other companies in U.S. telecom networks. The Federal Communications Commission maintains a list of those suppliers deemed to pose an unacceptable national security risk.
Any new election equipment acquired in Michigan after Jan. 1, 2026, could not contain components from companies identified by the FCC to pose an unacceptable security risk. The bills would not prohibit the repair, maintenance, or acquisition of parts for the proper operation of existing systems acquired and approved prior to Jan. 1, 2026.
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