Chelsea Community Forum Summary for June 12

Here is the summary from Chelsea Community Forum moderator Vince Elie:

The Chelsea Community Forum met, via Zoom, on the 12th of June. Approximately 18 people participated. The Forum opened with a review of our discussion guidelines and then launched into the topic, and it was led by Ms. Judy Karanandjeff from the League of Women Voters (LWV). She discussed the 39 bills in the Michigan Senate that attempt to address how elections are conducted in the State of Michigan.

Ms. Joan Sampieri, also of the LWV, noted there are required Public Accuracy Tests that must be completed prior to any election. These tests verify the accuracy of the voting equipment. The tests are open to the public and the LWV is present at these tests. She reported that the County Board of Canvassers meetings are also open to the public.

Ms. Karanandjeff opened with a brief history of the League of Women Voters and noted that the League was monitoring voting bills being advanced in the Michigan House. She went on to say that the League does support the following Senate Bills: 274, 300, 301, 306, 308, and 311, but overall is opposed to many of the proposed bills that are being advanced in the Michigan Senate. The League believes that the Senate voting bills will make voting more difficult and harder to administer. She provided examples: Senate Bill (SB) 285 initially required a copy of one’s driver’s license, social security card number or one’s state ID card to obtain an absentee ballot but has been amended to allow a voter to enter/write the last 4 digits of their Social Security number, or their driver’s license number or their state ID number on the absentee ballot request form. If ID wasn’t available, then the voter would have to file a provisional ballot. If the voter’s identity is not confirmed within 6 days of the election their vote would be discarded. Currently a voter may sign an affidavit swearing to their voting eligibility and their vote could be counted.

SB 310 prohibits the Secretary of State from sending absentee ballots, unless requested by the absentee ballot voter, and prohibits the SOS from providing a link to an application on the SOS website.

She noted concerns with several other bills, 273, 278, 283, 286, 287, and 297 which are also directed at absentee ballots and absentee voting. These bills attempt to regulate the location and number of absentee ballot drop boxes by requiring the approval of both the County Board of Canvassers and the Secretary of State. The drop boxes could not be used after 5 PM on the day prior to the election. All absentee ballot voters’ secrecy envelopes must be examined and approved by the County Board of Canvassers prior to any August and November election. The County Board of Canvassers will have the ability to impact local clerks’ hiring of assistants. These bills will also require that drop boxes be under continuous video surveillance.

SB 296 will maintain the 4-member Board for counties of 200,000 or fewer people but eliminate the 4-member County Board of Canvassers for counties with a population greater than 200,000 beginning in January 2022. For counties between 200,000 and 750,000 people the Board will number 6 and for counties greater than 750,000 people the Board will number 8. Quorums would be a simple majority, but no Board actions could be implemented unless 2 members from each political party agreed on the proposed action.

The League expects that these bills will be vetoed by Governor Whitmer, but the Republican Party and other supporters of these bills are expected to launch a citizen’s petition campaign, if they are unsuccessful in overriding the veto, by collecting 340,047 valid and certified signatures supporting the new voting bills. This petition will then be submitted to both the House and Senate where a simple majority, in each legislative branch, will enable the petition language to become law, bypassing the governor. It is unclear if this action would require an individual petition for each individual bill submitted or if the petition would encompass all 39 bills as one single petition.

Some participants expressed their concern that this discussion was not non-partisan as the words “voter suppression” were included in Ms. Karanandjeff’s PowerPoint presentation and that there was, in their opinion, nothing that was presented that appeared to suppress the vote. An audience member stated that “IDs are required for many things.” One member noted that the perception of election integrity is the crux of the distrust, but that the lack of integrity “has not been an issue.” It was also noted that the elections should be “fully trackable and transparent.” Another noted that the signature verification process is subjective and that more training in this matter would be helpful. Some of the Senate bills do address more training and standards regarding signature verification.

Despite a very contentious subject, there was a polite and respectful exchange of views and ideas.

Websites for further information:

lwvmi.org

senate.michigan.gov

votingrightslab.org

The next Chelsea Community Forum is scheduled for July 10 at 9 AM. The Chelsea Community Forum is open to all with an interest in the affairs of the Chelsea School District area and meets the 2nd Saturday of every month at 9:00 AM, currently on Zoom. The meeting link can be found on the Forum’s website: https://sites.google.com/site/chelseamiforum/home