LANSING — State Representatives Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) and Gretchen Driskell (D-Saline) are introducing a seven-bill package of legislation that would enact stricter standards of transparency and accountability for people seeking public office, and reassure Michigan voters that their elections are free, fair and clean of political trickery.

“Voters deserve to know that political campaigns are run fairly and transparently, and that people running for office are being held to high ethical standards,” Rep. Brinks said. “These bills would make it harder for politicians to play political games with our elections and would reassure citizens that their votes matter.” 

These bills stem from the 2013 election-rigging case in Grand Rapids where a House of Representatives candidate switched his allegiance from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party just before the filing deadline. At the time, Kent County Prosecutor William Forsyth stated that, “Although this scheme was clearly designed to undermine the election and to perpetrate a ‘fraud’ on the electorate, it was nonetheless legal … I would strongly encourage the Michigan Legislature to address this type of situation.”

The bills in the package would:

  • Require candidates that change parties to reimburse contributions with interest made in the prior year. (Brinks)
  • Allow a political party to select a new candidate if the incumbent candidate changes parties within seven days of the filing deadline. (Brinks)
  • Require state representative and senatorial candidates to be registered to vote in their district for at least 60 days before filing to be a candidate. (Driskell)
  • Create a constitutional amendment requiring state representative and senatorial candidates to be registered to vote in their district for at least 60 days before filing to be a candidate. (Driskell)
  • Require candidates for state office to file an affidavit of candidacy in person. (Driskell)
  • Extend penalties for perjury to a person assisting another person to commit perjury. (Brinks)
  • Increase penalties for perjury to a felony punishable by imprisonment for up to five years and/or a fine of up to $10,000. (Brinks)

“During this lame duck session, legislative Republicans are introducing legislation to make voting more difficult in order to discourage people from voting,” Rep. Driskell said. “Instead of making it harder to vote, I urge my colleagues to take up these bills, which would hold politicians to higher ethical standards and keep them accountable. The people of Michigan need to know that elections in this state are fair.”

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