Progress Michigan, Promote the Vote and All Voting is Local held a press conference Friday morning to discuss last-minute litigation and efforts from organizations and individuals who are sowing distrust in the election system.
In Michigan, the Board of Canvassers is responsible for certifying election results, as well as certifying petitions for ballot proposals and candidates seeking state or federal office. The four-member BSC is split evenly with two Democrats and two Republicans.
The U.S. Supreme Court could soon grant state legislatures unconditional control over federal elections, clearing the way for lawmakers to gerrymander their states with impunity and pass voter restriction measures without interference from state courts.
They are considered “essential” to ensuring the success of elections, and yet almost a third of election workers are believed to have left their job at least in part because of fears for their safety, increased threats or intimidation.
It’s not certain whether the Reproductive Freedom for All proposal will get in front of voters in November after the Board of State Canvassers deadlocked on party lines Wednesday. The board also deadlocked Wednesday on whether an initiative to expand voting rights will end up on the Nov. 8 general election ballot. Both matters are now expected to be resolved in the Michigan Supreme Court.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators released legislation Wednesday that aims to clarify the 1887 law that governs how Congress counts Electoral College votes following a presidential election.
Thousands of volunteers for the Promote the Vote coalition collected the nearly 670,000 signatures from all 83 Michigan counties, according to organizers — almost 250,000 more signatures than needed for the Monday deadline.
The following letter was submitted for publication by St. Joseph County Clerk Lindsay Oswald on behalf of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks ahead of the 2022 state primary and general election.
The suit claims the Cass County map establishing commissioner districts divides the City of Dowagiac unnecessarily, combining the city with multiple townships, diluting "the historical voting strength of the city's minority population," and skewing county commissioner districts disproportionately in favor of Republican candidates.
Several states are considering legislation that would increase penalties for threatening election officials, while others consider bills that would make it easier to prosecute people suspected of making said threats.
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