Great Lakes Wire

According to a press release released on Monday, three former Michigan secretaries of state recently announced that they are jointly opposing Proposal 2. The proposal, which will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot in Michigan, is a voting rights measure that would add several changes to the Michigan Constitution, including an elimination of the state's current requirement of showing proof of ID in order to vote.

Having served a combined 24 years as the state’s chief election official prior to current Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the three former secretaries who have announced their opposition to Proposal 2 are Candice Miller, Terri Lynn Land and Ruth Johnson.

According to the press release, the three former secretaries, along with many clerks across the state of Michigan, have highlighted that the mass mailing of ballots each election would open up new opportunities for fraud. It is estimated that when Benson chose to mail unsolicited absentee ballot applications in 2020, at least 800,000 were sent to individuals who were not eligible to vote, largely because these individuals had either moved or died.

“This proposal would instruct clerks to mail absentee ballots, rather than applications, to many voters each year,” Candice Miller, who now serves as Macomb County Public Works commissioner, said in the press release. “Mailing ballots is a departure from our current system where voters acknowledge their current residence and desire for a ballot by completing an application each year. Voters who have moved or died would be mailed ballots under this system and that is not a good idea.”

Land, who currently sits on the Wayne State University Board of Governors, said the proposal would allow non-government, third-parties to fund the elections.

“People want fair and impartial elections and allowing special interest groups to pay for them is 100% in conflict with that,” Land said.

A statewide poll from the Detroit Regional Chamber and the Glengariff Group in May 2021 showed that 79.7% of Michigan registered voters support requiring “every voter coming to the polls to present a government-issued identification to cast their ballot.” According to the press release, this includes 100% of Republicans, 83.4% of Independents and 58.4% of Democrats.

In October of 2021, the Michigan Legislature passed legislation that would have required proof of photo-ID for voting, while also providing free state ID cards to any eligible resident who needed one. However, it was vetoed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.