GUEST COLUMN: Republicans in state Senate making it harder for Michigan to vote

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In response to the extreme anti-voter legislation the state Senate passed this week, the SWIM (StateWide Indivisible Michigan) Communications Liaison, representing 1,000s of voters from across the state, makes the following statement:

Michigan voters passed an historic expansion of voting rights in 2018, and in 2020 they turned out in record numbers to vote in one of the state’s most secure elections in history. We know that by ensuring accessible, secure, and fair elections we can build a state that better represents us and our shared values.

Rather than building on these successes, Republicans in the Senate have passed these extreme anti-voter bills, which put up incredible barriers between voters and our freedom to vote. These bills take away options for how we cast our ballots, making absentee voting more cumbersome, and disproportionately impact voters of color, low-income voters, students, seniors, voters with disabilities, and rural voters.

These attacks on voting freedoms are based on the same dangerous lies and misinformation that led to the insurrection on Jan. 6. Michiganders won’t stand for the anti-voter power grabs like we saw today. And just like we have before, Michiganders will stand together — across race, income and zip code — to protect our voting rights, improve our elections in Michigan, and ensure that people, not corporate donors or the elected officials they back, are who decide the direction of our state.

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The Livingston Post is the only locally owned, all-digital information and opinion site in Livingston County, Mich. It was launched by award-winning journalists who were laid off from the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus by Gannett Co. Inc. in 2009.

5 Comments

  1. Laws passed in search of a problem. Livingston County had “no” issues with voting. The state had no fraudulent problems with voting, only rumors. The laws were passed to place road blocks in front of citizens who may vote absentee, etc. 60% of the vote in 2020 was absentee.

    Unfortunately the anybody but trump or Biden (Clinton) was not there this time allowing Repubs to win by default. 154,000 more honest votes for Biden in a state which votes for Dems in national elections since 1990 (with the exception of 2016 when the anybody vote gave the victory to trump [it wasn’t Repubs who did this]).

    You can not Gerrymander a national election in Michigan. You can only put obstacles up to hinder voters which the Republican legislature has done.

  2. First of all your race-baiting are you to suggest that people of color or low income don’t have IDs people like you are the reason why there is race problems in this country second of all you have nothing in this article about the bill not one fact opinion which is wrong secures our elections makes it harder to cheat you Democrats got to learn that the American people are not stupid

  3. This post/article is propaganda is full of “dangerous lies”. No one I know of any skin color or income level has ever had difficulty casting their vote in an election. Everyone is able to get a ride to the polling locale. Easy Peasy, lemon sqeezy. Your article’s claims of insurmountable difficulty and horrendous effort are ridiculous. Hope you paid well for this fiction. Try writing a book. The rest need to get up off couch and go vote. Casting your vote is not a paid job.

  4. You fail to list one provision that adversely impacts any honest person’s right to vote

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