Bureau of Elections report recommends against approving citizens-only voting measure for the ballot

A proposed amendment to the Michigan state constitution requiring residents to prove their citizenship when voting may not make the ballot, with the Michigan Bureau of Elections issuing a report determining it may not have submitted enough valid signatures.

While Americans for Citizen Voting – Michigan submitted 709,841 signatures on its petitions, well over the 446,198 needed to make the ballot, the Bureau of Elections estimates only 434,423 signatures are valid after reviewing a random sample of 1,000 signatures.

After considering a challenge to the signatures filed by Promote the Vote Action and attorney Bob Labrant, former general counsel to the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Bureau of Elections determined that 612 of the signatures were valid.

The bureau advises against certifying the petition if a review of the sample returns 628 or fewer valid signatures.

 The Board of State Canvassers will meet on Aug. 24, where the bipartisan, four-member board will determine whether the petition is sufficient, though canvassers typically follow the bureau’s recommendation.

The measure would require residents to show a photo identification before casting their ballot and establish new voter roll verifications, requiring the Secretary of State to review the rolls and remove any noncitizens. It would also add language to the state constitution noting that only U.S. citizens can vote in local, state and federal elections.

In a statement, the initiatives’ organizers criticized the bureau’s findings, calling on the Board to let voters have the final say on their proposal. 

“Our petitions were submitted more than four months before the deadline, yet here we are at the last minute being told they should not be certified,” said Kurt O’Keefe, the initiative’s treasurer. “We spent months reviewing these petitions, removing duplicates and discarding signatures we believed might not comply with Michigan law. We are confident we submitted significantly more than the 446,198 valid signatures required.”

However, Promote the Vote Action, which has argued the citizens-only voting proposal would create additional barriers that could keep some citizens from casting their ballot, celebrated the bureau’s findings. 

“The attacks on Michiganders’ access to the ballot are far from over, but today we celebrate that one of them has stalled,” Promote the Vote Executive Director Micheal Davis Jr. said.