The House Elections and Ethics Committee heard testimony today on bills that continue to deny the strength of our election process and perpetuate the Big Lie.
The legislation in the House follows 39 Senate bills introduced in recent months that would collectively limit voter access to Michigan elections and address non-existent problems.
“Yet again, we’re seeing our Republican colleagues put forth ‘solutions’ to imaginary problems that are not based in reality and only serve to further the Big Lie. Continuing down this path wastes time and state resources, and pulls us away from meaningful work we should be doing to get vaccines in arms, small businesses open and get Michiganders back to work,” said House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski (D-Scio Township). “House Democrats are ready to address the real problems Michiganders are facing, and we encourage our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to finally join us in doing the same.”
House Bills 4837, 4838 and 4840 are solutions in search of problems that serve only to needlessly undermine public confidence in our democratic institutions. HB 4837 purports to prohibit third-party access to the state’s qualified voter file, although such access is already prohibited, which was acknowledged by the bill sponsor in committee. HB 4838 prohibits electronic poll books and voting systems from being connected to the internet until after tabulation, despite the fact that, again, such access is not permitted today. HB 4840 would impose duplicative ballot retention requirements and new, unnecessary software retention requirements on local governments without a demonstrated need or discernable benefit.
“Since last November, we’ve seen an aggressive, coordinated smear campaign designed to instill mistrust in our elections and harm our democratic institutions, despite the most comprehensive audit in our state’s history proving the November 2020 election was free, fair and final,” said state Rep. Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth), who serves as the Democratic Vice Chair of the House Elections and Ethics Committee. “Michigan’s voters deserve a consistent process they can put their trust in, without having to anticipate surprises or partisan antics based on which side of the aisle is in control. I will continue to speak up to ensure facts are driving our decisions, not conspiracy theories.”