Great Lakes Wire

An overwhelming majority of Michigan voters are in favor of increased election security, including measures requiring photo identification to vote, a recent poll by the Remington Research Group found. 

The poll, commissioned by Americans for Citizen Voting, surveyed 1,011 likely 2022 General Election Michigan voters. Among results, it found more than 75% of participants supported a requirement to show a government-issued photo ID in order to vote, while support among Black residents was even higher at 79%. 

“A majority of African Americans in Michigan support voter ID because they understand it is the surest way to validate a voter’s identification,” Christopher Arps, president of Americans for Citizen Voting, said in the release. “People who look like me know how important the vote is, and we want to protect it.”

Results from the poll likewise indicate overwhelming support for the Secure MI Vote ballot initiative, offering several election security provisions and underscoring the necessity for an official ID photo to vote.

“The people of Michigan have a right to decide their own election rules and processes,” Arps added. “Unfortunately, just today the U.S. House of Representatives passed so-called voting rights legislation that would block the clear will of Michigan voters and those in other states. And the Senate threatens to change its rules to pass this slap at voters.”

The poll was conducted from Jan. 8-9. It has a margin of error of +/-3% and a 95% level of confidence. 

This comes as the Michigan state legislature passed measures that Republicans say would have improved the integrity of elections in the Mitten State in late 2021. Measures included would have increased identification requirements for both in-person and absentee voting, though it was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the Detroit News reports. 

"To be clear, there is no evidence that use of affidavit ballots is related to voter fraud," Whitmer's letter said at that time. "In fact, the Michigan Senate Oversight Committee recently concluded that the 2020 election produced no significant evidence of fraud."

An August 2021 report by Bridge Michigan states the Secure MI Vote campaign, launched by Republican voters in the state to tighten voting laws after the 2020 election, proposed petition language to the Michigan Secretary of State that would make photo ID mandatory for all voting, prohibit absentee ballot application mass mailings and bar election funding by private groups. 

Spokesperson Jamie Roe told Bridge that the goal of the initiative is to restore confidence in the integrity of the voting system, stating that a unique provision of the Michigan Constitution allows GOP organizers to evade Whitmer by collecting 340,047 valid signatures to send the initiative to the legislature to enact it into law. 

Michigan is one of 20 states that currently allows registered voters to propose, revise or repeal laws by collecting a certain number of petition signatures, according to ClickOnDetroit. Should enough signatures be collected, the legislation would either go directly to the legislature or to the next ballot for voters to decide directly. 

In the case of the Secure MI Vote campaign, the measure would go directly to the legislature for approval.

While matters concerning Michigan voting requirements have been going on, a different story has been unfolding at the federal level. In a Jan. 7 report, CNN said the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives has approved legislation to give the federal government the power to enforce certain rules pertaining to elections across all states. 

This has since been brought to the forefront of discussion following multiple states moving forward with measures like requiring a valid ID to vote. The measure passed the House of Representatives along party lines and is being sent to the Senate, where its fate is murkier. 

Some federal requirements included in the legislation include making Election Day a public holiday, mandating same-day voter registration, guaranteeing that all voters can request mail-in ballots and restoring the federal voting rights for ex-felons once they are released from prison, according to a CNN report.