Bills heading to the full Michigan Senate floor would give many local clerks eight days to pre-process absentee ballots ahead of an election.
Democratic Senator Jeremy Moss says advance processing would help cut down on confusion that can come when election results are delayed.
“This is something that other states have proven to keep secure the contents of those votes but also allow for the processing of those ballots so that they can get their results as early as possible.” said Moss.
But Republican Senator Ruth Johnson says she’s worried about transparency during the pre-processing period.
“Eight days is hard to get citizens on both sides that have the right to come watch, ensure and also promote that the vote was done properly.” said Ruth.
Current policy allows two days of some pre-processing activities for communities of a certain size.