Benson: GOP plan would ‘gut’ Michiganders’ voting rights ahead of next presidential election 

Michigan’s top elections official is sounding an alarm over Republican-led legislation that would amend the state Constitution and make it harder for eligible citizens to vote. 

LANSING—Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is pushing back against a Republican-backed plan to amend the state Constitution to impose stricter voting requirements, calling the proposal an unnecessary rollback of Michiganders’ voting rights.

House Joint Resolution B, introduced on Wednesday by state Rep. Bryan Posthumus (R-Rockford), seeks to amend the Michigan Constitution to mandate new citizenship verification processes and stricter voter ID requirements—changes that Michigan’s top elections official warns could block thousands of legal voters from casting their ballots on Election Day.

“The politicians pushing this plan are taking something we all believe and know is true—that only US citizens should vote in our elections—and using that as cover to gut Michiganders’ voting rights in our state Constitution,” Benson said in a statement this week. “We need to hold the line on protecting every eligible citizen’s constitutional right to cast a ballot in every election.”

The proposal to amend the state constitution isn’t likely to pass the divided state Legislature with required two-thirds support, but conservative lawmakers are already gearing up for a petition drive to try to put the proposal before voters on the 2026 ballot, Bridge Michigan reports.

What would change?

Citizenship Verification at Registration

Current law: 

When registering to vote or requesting a ballot, Michiganders must affirm their US citizenship under the penalty of perjury. Providing false information on those application forms is a felony.

Election officials also conduct routine checks against various databases to confirm voter eligibility, as well as verify citizenship status through documentation before issuing driver’s licenses or state IDs and registering voters through the automatic voter registration system.

Proposed change: 

Michiganders would be required to provide documents to prove their US citizenship, like a passport or birth certificate, when registering to vote or requesting an absentee ballot. 

The Secretary of State’s office would run an ongoing citizenship audit of registered voters, with the power to remove those flagged as non-citizens unless they provide proof of citizenship within 60 days.

Stricter Voter ID Rules

Current law: 

Voters can verify their identity at the polls with a driver’s license or state-issued ID. Those without one can sign an affidavit affirming their identity and still cast a regular ballot.

Proposed change: 

Affidavits would no longer be enough. Voters without a government-issued photo ID would only be able to cast provisional ballots on Election Day, which would only be tabulated into the final tally if the voter returned to present proper identification within six days after the election.

Absentee voters would also have to verify their identity when they vote by providing a copy of their photo ID, their driver’s license number, or the last four digits of their social security number.

What’s at stake?

Republicans contend that changes are necessary to ensure only US citizens are voting and to prevent election fraud, despite a lack of evidence of widespread voting irregularities in Michigan.

“This is a no-brainer,” Posthumus said in a statement announcing the legislation. “No citizen should ever have their vote canceled out by a non-citizen voting the opposite direction.”

But Benson warns that rather than improving election security, the proposed restrictions would only make it more difficult for thousands of eligible US citizens—especially seniors, low-income voters, and those living in rural communities—to exercise their fundamental right to vote.

Non-citizen voting is already illegal in Michigan. And there’s no evidence it’s going unchecked.

In a lone instance where a Chinese student was discovered to have voted in last year’s election, criminal charges have been filed. And comprehensive reviews conducted in other states—like Ohio and Georgia—show that instances of non-citizens voting are exceptionally rare.

In a statement, Benson urged lawmakers to trash the plan and “get back to the business of working together on honest proposals to keep elections safe, secure, and accessible.”

“This is a failed policy that has already been tried in other states. In those states, it has either been overturned by the courts for being blatantly unconstitutional, created a separate and unequal system of voting access for citizens, or blocked tens of thousands of eligible voters from casting their legal ballot in an election,” Benson said. “I stand with the people of Michigan who have overwhelmingly passed ballot measures to make voting more accessible.”

What’s next?

The legislation has been referred to the House Committee on Election Integrity. 

Because the plan involves an amendment to the state Constitution, it would need to be approved by Michiganders as a ballot initiative during a general or special election.

In order to make the ballot, the resolution would need bipartisan support from at least two-thirds (or 184) of the lawmakers in both the state House and the state Senate—an unlikely scenario with Democrats in control of the Senate and Republicans holding a slim majority in the House.

The proposal, instead, is likely to result in a citizen petition effort to get the amendment on the ballot—with at least one group already lining up to take on that effort, Bridge Michigan reports.

Regardless of the trajectory, the proposed changes could also face an uphill legal battle.

Arizona is the only state that enforces proof-of-citizenship requirements for voters. Similar policies in other states have been struck down by courts—namely because federal courts have ruled that requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote is a violation of federal law. 

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