State Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) testifies in the House Elections Committee at the Anderson House Office Building in Lansing on March 12, 2024.
LANSING, Mich., Jan. 30, 2025 — Yesterday, House Republicans introduced a joint resolution which would require Michigan residents to provide documented proof of citizenship prior to registering to vote. According to the resolution, Michigan voters would need to show a birth certificate, passport or naturalization certificate before being allowed to register to vote. Currently, Michigan residents can register using their driver’s license or state ID number or by filling out a form with their social security number at their local clerk’s office or sending it in by mail.
“This is a blatant attempt to disenfranchise Michigan voters through enacting unnecessary barriers to the ballot box,” said state Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing), former chair of the House Elections Committee. “One in ten adult citizens do not have citizenship documentation readily available. This resolution would mean that any Michigan resident who does not carry around their passport or birth certificate would not be eligible for voter registration. Requiring what is oftentimes inaccessible documentation will prevent thousands of eligible voters from being able to cast their votes.”
There are already systemic checks and balances to prevent fraudulent voting in Michigan elections. Last term, House Democrats passed legislation to create the Secure Automatic Voter Registration system, which will automatically register eligible voters who show proof of citizenship when they renew or get a license. If an individual provides proof of non-citizenship, they are filtered out of any voting opportunities. This system will go into effect this year. Despite addressing election security concerns while also making it easier to vote, not a single Republican voted for this legislation.
“Despite campaigning on rising costs of living, inflation, and promising to deliver for everyday workers, Republicans have never intended to support the working class in ANY way,” Tsernoglou continued. “It’s why one of their first orders of business is to amend our constitution, upend the voter registration process and make it harder for the working class and other individuals to vote.”
Voter fraud, and non-citizens voting in particular, is extremely rare in Michigan and throughout the United States. This resolution will do more harm than good in creating unnecessary hurdles for Michigan voters.
“The politicians pushing this plan are taking something that we all believe and know is true – that only U.S. citizens should vote in our elections – and using that to promote policies that will make it harder for eligible citizens to vote while not making it any easier for us to catch bad actors who want to defraud the system,” said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. “I look forward to working with lawmakers to explore honest proposals to improve election security. But I won’t entertain anything that amounts to an attempt to take power away from the citizens of Michigan or threaten their constitutional right to cast a ballot in the next and every election.”
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