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Michigan Republicans push for new voting bills

"Michigan Capitol" by MittenStatePhototog is licensed under CC BY 2.0

In the months following the November 2020 election, many state GOP legislators made false claims of fraud and malfeasance.

Many of those same Republicans now want to make voting more difficult, saying the changes are needed to protect the integrity of elections. Several state and local audits proved the election was both accurate and free of systemic fraud.

Garlin Gilchrist is Michigan’s Lieutenant Governor. He says making it more difficult to vote is a racist tactic that goes back to the Jim Crow South.

“You know we have seen historically that when you place these onerous id requirements in front of voters that people that are disproportionately the impacts are low income voters and voters of color,” said Gilchrist.

Knowing that Governor Gretchen Whitmer will veto some of the most extreme changes to the state’s elections laws, Republicans say they're planning to push a state petition drive. If they collect just 340-thousand signatures, Michigan’s GOP-led legislature can bypass the governor and adopt the changes into law.