LANSING, Mich., March 11, 2025 — House Democrats held a press conference opposing the passage of House Joint Resolution B (HJR B) out of the House Election Integrity Committee today. This resolution would require Michiganders to provide proof of citizenship, a birth certificate, passport or naturalization certificate, to vote in an election. 

“We can all agree that only American citizens should be voting in our elections, but this resolution doesn’t accomplish this,” said state Rep. Stephen Wooden (D-Grand Rapids), Democratic vice chair of the House Elections Integrity Committee. “Instead, all it does is block the right to vote, force citizens to pay for the right to vote and foster more chaos and confusion.”

Procuring the required legal documents to vote can prove costly, as a copy of a birth certificate can cost $34, and a passport can cost between $130 and $165. Many Michiganders are already struggling to get by due to rising costs caused by looming tariffs and may not be able to afford these costs.

“We need to call this resolution what it is — a poll tax, and a discriminatory one at that,” said state Rep. Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth). “Working people, women and military members abroad should not have to pay more out of pocket to exercise their constitutional right to vote just like anyone else. This resolution is plainly discriminatory against millions of Michiganders — we will not stand for it.”

HJR B puts over 2 million women in Michigan, who have changed their names following marriage or divorce and no longer match their birth certificate, at risk of disenfranchisement. The policy would also disproportionately affect military members serving overseas. 

“House Republicans are trying to impose a pink poll tax on women in our state and undue burden on senior citizens and overseas service members,” said state Rep. Mai Xiong (D-Warren). “Mothers and previously married or divorced women should not have to spend their time and money on changing their documents to perform their rightful civic duty. I will not stand for a policy that risks making it harder for women in our state to vote.”

Functionally, this constitutional amendment would impose a “pink poll tax” on women in Michigan and would especially affect Black mothers and working families.

“This discriminatory resolution unduly burdens the right to vote for women, working families and Black and Brown people,” said state Rep. Tonya Myers Phillips (D-Detroit). “It’s hypocritical that House Republicans are pushing this discriminatory poll tax but haven’t addressed GOP members who have unlawfully interfered with the American people’s right to vote for their elected leaders. We all know that when the GOP disagrees with election results, they try to illegally tamper with voting machines, support fake electors and even violently overtake the US Capitol. This is yet another attempt to deny people’s rights and to control our elections.”

House Democrats passed legislation last term to create a Secure Automatic Voter Registration system that registers Michiganders to vote when they apply for or renew their driver’s license and show proof of citizenship. Non-citizens are not eligible and filtered out of this process. This system addresses the concerns expressed in this resolution, yet every single Republican voted against it. 

House Republicans also gutted funding for local clerks in their budget bills they passed last week. Should this policy take effect, the burden will fall to these local officials. 

“Just last term, Michigan Democrats took action to preserve the integrity of our elections, while simultaneously expanding access to the ballot,” said state Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing), former chair of the House Elections Committee. “House Republicans have made it clear that they want to add barriers to voting and to increase the burden on our already overworked clerks. All the while they are cutting critical election funding, which will only cause issues on Election Day and prevent eligible Michiganders from voting.”

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