The Michigan state Senate passed a slate of election bills that would pose a serious threat to election integrity, creating an “elections database and institute” and letting individuals interact with voters in line at the polls.
Senate Bills 401, 402, 403, and 404 — which proponents call the “Michigan Voting Rights Act” — passed Sept. 17 along party lines in the state Senate, where Democrats hold a slim two-seat majority. The bill is now headed to the state House, where its timeline is uncertain, state Rep. Ann Bollin told The Federalist.
“This is bad legislation,” Bollin, a Re said. “I think this just further drives a wedge and removes responsibility.”
The bills’ effective date is not set in stone since they still need to pass the House, according to Bollin. She laid out two potential scenarios that could occur if the bills pass the House.
In one case, the bills could take effect the usual 90 days after passage, meaning they would not affect November’s election.
In the other case, Bollin said the bills could be changed to take effect immediately after passage. If Democrats rushed the bills through the House to be signed by Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, they would face a lengthy rule process that would still likely put their implementation beyond the election. But Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson could rush that process.
“That rule process is something that generally takes months to process because you have a public hearing, public comment period,” Bollin said.
