By Jon King, Michigan Advance
A set of bipartisan election bills were signed into law Friday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Whitmer said the bills were “expanding voting access for Michiganders who are serving our nation in uniform and authorizing local clerks to pre-process absentee ballots two days before Election Day,” that would “help more people exercise their constitutional right to vote.”
Included in the approved legislation was HB 4491, sponsored by Rep. Andrew Fink (R-Adams Twp.), which allows local clerks to begin preparing absentee ballots for counting two days before the election. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gives the keynote address at the 2022 Mackinac Policy Conference on June 2, 2022 | Allison R. Donahue
Previously, clerks could only begin that process — which involves opening the outer return envelopes, verifying absentee ballot numbers and then placing the secrecy sleeve-covered ballots into a secure container for counting — on the day before Election Day.
The bill also codifies existing best practices for absentee ballot drop boxes and requires the Secretary of State and county election clerks to review voter rolls every month and remove dead voters.
Clerks have been asking for additional time to process absentee ballots since the passage of Proposal 3 in 2018, which allowed for any-reason absentee voting, greatly increasing the number of such ballots.
Michigan now joins 38 other states and the Virgin Islands in allowing processing of absentee ballots before the election.
One component of GOP election conspiracy theories that arose out of the 2020 presidential election were delays in counting absentee ballots, with particular emphasis on the more than 566,000 that were being processed at the former TCF Center in Detroit.
The ensuing multiple-day delay in delivering results led to Republican activists trying to get the process shut down amid false and disproven claims of fraud.
Also signed into law were SB 8, sponsored by Sen. Paul Wojno (D-Warren) and SB 311, sponsored by Sen. Ruth Johnson (R-Groveland Township). Together, they permit overseas military members to return absentee ballots electronically.
The bills were signed despite criticism from Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson that they didn’t include military spouses and dependents.
“By unnecessarily excluding military spouses and dependents serving our country overseas from electronic ballot return, the package expands voting rights for some while needlessly discriminating against other members of the military community,” Benson said.
The Democrat is being challenged by Republican Kristina Karamo on Nov. 8. Whitmer faces Republican nominee Tudor Dixon.
The military voting provision will not be in effect this election.
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