LANSING — Last month, voters approved Proposal 3 to eliminate barriers to fair and accessible elections. Despite the proposal passing in 80 of Michigan’s 83 counties with over 60 percent support, House Republicans rushed through a plan today weakening key elements of the initiative. In response, state Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D-Dearborn) issued the following statement:
“Last month, Michigan voters came out in record numbers to support their right to vote by passing Proposal 3, which increases election accessibility by eliminating barriers to voter registration. Now, instead of respecting the will of the millions who supported this proposal, Republican leadership is blatantly engaging in discriminatory tactics as they seek to create additional obstacles to keep people from accessing the polls. To put it simply, this is voter suppression, just like when it was a poll tax or a reading test 50 years ago. Those pushing this attack on democracy are once again on the wrong side of history as they continue to rig election rules to disenfranchise certain voters.”