Democratic legislators caution against election disinformation, GOP voter suppression resolution
LANSING, Mich., March 25, 2025 — State Reps. Stephen Wooden (D-Grand Rapids), Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth) and Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie hosted a press roundtable today to discuss House Republicans’ weaponization of the committee process to undermine voter confidence and enact voter suppression tactics. The roundtable immediately followed the Election Integrity Committee meeting, where Republican leadership has continued to hear testimony that flames unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud involving the 2020 and 2022 elections.
“The chairs and leadership of every House Committee have a responsibility to hear from diverse perspectives on the issues before us to best serve all Michiganders,” Koleszar said. “It is disheartening to see the Republican leaders of the Election Integrity Committee continue to platform election deniers and prioritize their own political agenda over working on legislation that could make a real positive impact on Michiganders’ lives. They are wasting taxpayer dollars by creating a circus of election disinformation, rather than governing responsibly. It’s time to stop rehashing the past and stop misusing government time.”
“In the last few weeks, the House Elections Integrity Committee has devolved into a three-ring circus,” Edevbie said. “Today, Chair Smit decided to ignore verified information from the qualified voter file and over 250 bipartisan audits to once again relitigate the 2020 presidential election. Her continued attempts to defile Michigan voters demonstrates a stunning and profound lack of seriousness.”
House Republicans recently introduced a constitutional amendment, House Joint Resolution B, that would disenfranchise millions of women and create unnecessary hurdles to the ballot box. The resolution would require Michigan voters to provide and pay for additional citizenship identification documentation, effectively instituting a poll tax.
“It seems the Republican playbook is to call any election result they don’t like stolen,” Wooden said. “Now, they’re using the committee process to peddle baseless claims of fraud as an excuse to push legislation that would disenfranchise thousands of eligible Michigan voters. Why are House Republicans attempting to weaken voting rights instead of strengthening pocketbooks? My Democratic colleagues and I are going to keep focusing on making Michiganders lives more stable and help provide people the breathing room they need.”
###