A guest post from Elizabeth Ayoub, Patrice Johnson and the legislative staff of MI Democrat House Speaker Joe Tate.Michigan Democrats use a recent constitutional change as a pretext to pass legislation that undermines Michigan’s election security. After a surge of money from out-of-state during the November election, voters in Michigan approved Proposal 2 – a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment to change the state’s voting policy. Michigan became a trifecta, with Democrats gaining control of the legislative branch, executive branch, and judicial branch. The new leadership of the legislature has used deceptive practices and unorthodox tactics to suppress public discontent and enact egregious laws.
“Voter Integrity is on the cutting block.” “Our transparency and checks-and-balances for honest and fair Michigan elections are being systematically taken away,” said the normally diplomat state Senator Ruth Johnson. The former chairperson of the Senate Elections and Ethics Committee was Michigan Secretary of State for two terms.
Egregious legislation
Proposal 2 created a multitude of drop boxes, required a photo ID or a legal document signed, authorized nine early voting days, and allowed absentee voting in every election. Nevertheless, many of the recently passed bills go beyond Proposal 2, and will harm the integrity in Michigan elections.
MI SOS Jocely Benjamin pictured with a City of Detroit drop-box. “They are add-ons I believe most people wouldn’t vote for,” Senator Johnson stated.
When voters approved Proposal 2, it was believed that early voting would be extended to nine days. Senate Bill 367, and its identical House version HB-4695, both allow up to 29 days for early voting.
(5) Additional early voting days, as described in the subsection, must be held on or after day 29 of an election. (SB367 sections 729d(5), 729f(8)) and 729g(9)).
SB367 also removes language from a long-standing law that requires the Secretary of State to get pre-approval before changing rules for administering election from the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. SB367 removes this language from the current law.
(9) The secretary of state must submit a written report, not later than the first March in 2021 and no later than the first March every two years thereafter, to the committees on elections in the house and the senate. –SB367(Sec. 765(9))
The bill eliminates the requirement that the Secretary of State hold public hearings on new policies or give public notice.
After receiving the written notification from a city clerk or township clerk pursuant to this subsection, and not later than seven business days after receipt, the secretary shall make the public notice available by posting it on the Department of State website. 765(6))
SB 367 also allows for “print on demand” ballots. Prop 2 made no mention of these changes. The House passed HB 4695 and the Senate brought SB 3667 to the floor of the Senate on June 28.
Senator Ruth Johnson made an impassioned appeal to her peers not to vote for the legislation. She argued that early voting was one of the biggest changes to elections in Michigan in at least 50 year. “These bills strip away important protections which are usually present for developing early voting procedures.”
SB 367 was approved by a roll call vote. The bill will now be sent to the governor, where Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is expected to sign the bill into law.
Photo credit: Michigan Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer at the WEF in Davos: Axios. “The rule-making is now at whims of the Secretary of state,” Sen. Johnson stated during an interview for this piece. “No public notice. No more input by legislators via JCAR. “All new rules can be implemented immediately without the public knowing.”
In a radio interview with Michael Patrick Shiels on June 21, Sen. Johnson said, “I think that our current secretary has a long history of doing things which weaken the integrity of elections.” She said that the secretary had a “history” of trying to circumvent the process. A court ruling backs up the senator’s claim, as Secretary Jocelyn Benson violated the Administrative Procedures Act 2021.
Bright spot
House Bill 4210 was removed from the Senate agenda because of a lack of bipartisan support. But to slow the bill’s progress towards becoming law, it took Herculean effort.
Citizens groups such as Pure Integrity Michigan Elections, Michigan Fair Elections, Stand Up Michigan and the Association of Mature American Citizens rallied their supporters to contact legislators. Alex Halderman Ph.D., a world-renowned expert in electronic voting, testified to the House Elections Committee of the House on May 9, that it cannot be secured. Despite public and expert objection, the committee sent HB 4210 to the House for a vote.
Thankfully, HB4210 was met with bipartisan opposition and withdrawn from consideration.
“It might still be put to a vote,” said Rachelle Smit, a freshman representative. Smit and Jay DeBoyer are the two Republicans who make up the eight-member Elections Committee of the House. The Democrats are in charge of all committees because they have a majority.
Smit and DeBoyer’s combined 21 years of clerk experience helps them to frame their concerns.
DeBoyer said, “As a clerk I was not biased.” “My job was running a fair, accurate and secure election.” I don’t approach this issue from a partisan perspective. I’m an American. Why would anyone want loosening election security?”
Other legislative overreach beyond the Proposal 2
Below is a comparison between what was approved by Proposal 2 compared to what legislators actually passed.
Unorthodox legislative action and rushed proceedings
Eight pairs of election bills were introduced by Democrat senators over the course of a week. Five of the eight bills were replaced with substitute versions at the last minute, further muddying the transparency.
The Republican Representatives Smit, and DeBoyer only received the substitute bills 75 minutes before the meeting of their committee. They had insufficient time to analyze and review the proposed changes.
DeBoyer stated that he received substitutes to HB 4755 & HB 4756 during the hearing of the committee on June 21. He did not have time to review the substitutes before the committee approved the bills.
HB 4755 eliminates the felony penalties for disclosing a result of an election or how a vote was cast. HB4756 limits how many challengers are allowed to be at polling places and restricts their ability to observe the entire election process as outlined by previous rules.
Both bills are unrelated to Proposal 2.
Deny public comment
The most troubling result of the rushed procedure is the chilling effect they have on public comments. The pop-up replacement bills did not allow for any public comment. These quickly created bills were voted upon and moved to their chambers without much opportunity for public review. This exclusion from public participation undermines democratic principles, and raises serious questions about the transparency of legislative process.
Bill Richardson, vice-chair of Pure Integrity Michigan Elections, said that handpicked sponsors had written the bills and then testified in support of them. “We submitted written statements, and our volunteers registered themselves to speak at the meetings. We were told ‘Sorry we’ve ran out of time.’Sometimes, they didn’t allow our people to speak at all even though they were there and filled out a card to speak on bills on the agenda. This is not transparent governance or responsible.”
Richardson questioned the urgency as well. “They used the reason that they had to rush to pass legislation to meet a deadline in September. They chose to create a crisis rather than deal with the deadline in a rational way.
He said that all they had to do was call one or two special sessions and postpone their summer recess for a few weeks. “Give every bill its due consideration.” “Get this done properly.”
As of Friday, June 30th, the House and Senate were in recess.
Unorthodox procedures
Normally, bills are sent to a committee for review and approval prior to being voted on in the House or Senate. This week, however, bills appeared on the Senate agenda accompanied by unusual bullet points:* Amendments/subs[titutions]: None.* Committee did not recommend.
Four of the six bills marked “Committee didn’t recommend” were adopted by both chambers, and will soon be sent to the Governor for signature.
HB4362 and HB4363 allow individuals to opt-in for organ donation registry and anatomical donations when filing their taxes. These bills “require Treasury share donor registrants to the Secretary of State’s Office,” and “this data would not be subjected to FOIA and disclosure is further restricted to only entities that are allowed access to administer the registry.”
HB 4364 permits the disclosure of certain information relating to the donor registry program.
HB 4202 repeals criminal procedure to criminal sexual conduct and removes mental incapacitating of a spouse from an exemption for rape.
Outside money, ‘spent deceiving people’
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Sen. Johnson believes that the public was misled to vote for Proposal 2. “I don’t blame voters. She said that a lot of it sounded good. “A lot of money was spent on deceiving the public.”
She said that “proponents ran ads saying this enshrines voter identification into our Constitution.” “But the ads did not mention that it also enshrined a person’s right to vote without identification!”
The senator’s claims are supported by the money trail. 74% of the $31.7 million spent in support of Proposal 2, or $23.6 millions, was spent on the campaign.
Ballotpedia (https://ballotpedia.org/Michigan_Proposal_2,_Voting_Policies_in_Constitution_Amendment_(2022)
The funding for Proposal 2 was primarily provided by wealthy donors outside of Michigan.
Sixteen Thirty Fund, based in Washington D.C., contributed about half of the $23.6 millions raised by Promote the Vote. George Soros’ Open Society Foundation in New York contributed $1.2 million. The Sixteen Thirty Fund, a 501 (c)(4) nonprofit, uses a fiscal sponsorship model in order to maximize its impact and create lasting changes. The Open Society Foundation has a 501 (C)3 status.
Source: Ballotpedia.
The rejection of amendments proposed to the committee by former clerks such as Representatives Jay DeBoyer, Rachelle Smit, and Alex Halderman Ph.D. and the testimony of an internationally renowned cybersecurity expert, raises serious questions about the purported commitment of the legislature to maintaining election integrity.
The inconsistent evaluation and acceptance of amendments casts doubts on the willingness of the legislature to consider diverse perspectives from individuals who have direct knowledge about the electoral process. The selective approval without proper examination of amendments suggests a lack thorough scrutiny, and calls into question whether the legislative process is fair and impartial.
Evidence suggests that the Michigan legislature used Proposal 2 to push through provisions which undermine election integrity and advance a list of processes not included in Proposal 2. Transparency and fairness are essential in the legislative process. Citizens and advocacy groups need to closely monitor these developments, and advocate for safeguards that protect the democratic processes essential to preserving a constitutional republic.
As Rep. Jay DeBoyer says:
“Proposal 2 is removing common sense measures we’ve had for decades in Michigan. When 70% of the populace is concerned about the security of elections, one wonders why people want to loosen the security. You have to question if there was a willful intention.”
Elizabeth Ayoub is the Communications Director at Michigan Fair Elections. She began her career as a French and Latin teacher while her children were still young. Later, she became a Michigan lawyer. She lives in St. Johns.
Patrice Johnson is the chairperson of MFE and PIME. Former teacher Patrice Johnson has founded five successful businesses and served as a senior executive at a Fortune 100 company. Patrice wrote the book The Fall and Rise Of Tyler Johnson. The book will be the basis for a documentary that will air on PBS nationwide in 2022.
