Great Lakes Wire

The Secure MI Vote initiative, a drive by Republicans to reform Michigan’s election laws, cleared a hurdle recently when the Board of Canvassers approved the group’s petition summary, paving the way for it to collect the 340,000 signatures needed to bring the initiative before lawmakers.  

The group’s efforts are gaining support nationwide, with 79% of respondents in a recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll stating that they support measures requiring voters to show a government-issued photo ID when casting a ballot. 

“Now, what our opponents are saying is we’re keeping people from voting and there’s nothing that could be further from the truth,” Jamie Roe, a spokesperson for the group told WILX 10. “What we’re doing is keeping people from voting who are not eligible to vote and to those who say that every vote should instantly go into the voting stream whether you have an ID or not, I would just ask how much fraud is acceptable.”

Moreover, the Election Integrity Initiative noted that according to the Honest Elections Project poll, 64% of voters want to increase voting safeguards to curb fraud. The poll found that 61% of independent voters also supported safeguard. Demographically, increasing voter safeguards is supported by Hispanic voters (66%),  urban voters (59%) and Black voters (51%). Numbers like this have fueled Secure MI Vote, a nonprofit organization that notes on its website that it is focused on “helping MI secure future elections.” 

“It’s about time we can trust that our vote will be counted correctly,” the organization said. 

The organization began collecting signatures this month and has 180 days to gather enough signatures to move forward with the proposal. The petition has drawn the ire of Democrats. According to WILX 10, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II issued a statement after the Board of Canvassers approved the group’s petition. 

“This is a dishonest effort that is wrong for Michigan,” Gilchrist wrote in the statement. “Its purpose is to make voting harder, and create additional, complicated burdens on election workers whose effort and professionalism just delivered the most secure, accessible, and high-turnout election in our state’s history.”

The GOP-led group is seeking a way around Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s likely veto of Republican election bills, according to the Detroit Free Press. The publication reported that the group claims its initiative protects voters’ rights and election integrity while increasing confidence and participation in elections. 

And if polls are any indication, WILX 10 said the group’s push to require all voters to show a partial social security number or a photo ID with their absentee ballot should prove to be well received. 

The group also wants to see an end to voters without an ID being allowed to sign an affidavit to cast a ballot. WILX 10 reported that under the proposal, those voters would have six days after the election to provide identification or their vote would not be tallied.