FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022
CONTACT: Stephanie Cepak, Byrum & Fisk Advocacy Communications, scepak@byrumfisk.com
State board deadlocks on key Michigan voting rights ballot initiative, campaign vows to take case to court
Board of State Canvassers splits 2-2, stalling placement of Promote the Vote 2022 on November general election ballot
LANSING, Mich. – Promote the Vote 2022 released the following statement today after the Board of State Canvassers deadlocked on placing the ballot initiative on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.
Promote the Vote 2022 submitted more than 664,000 signatures from Michigan voters – more than 200,000 than was needed for a constitutional amendment. The Bureau of Elections staff report validated and confirmed that the campaign gathered more than enough signatures and recommended placement on the November 2022 ballot.
“We are extremely disappointed by the Board of State Canvassers’ deadlock. This is a disservice to the people of Michigan and is indicative of the obstructionist partisan politics that have taken over truly non-partisan issues like election reform and equal access to the ballot,” said Khalilah Spencer, board president for Promote the Vote 2022. “Sadly, despite the clear facts and the independent validation of our proposal by the Bureau of Elections, these two Board of State Canvassers’ members are standing in the way of Michigan voters having their say on this important proposal. Nonetheless, we are confident that the courts will remedy this needless and unjustified attempt to block our proposal.”
Promote the Vote 2022 would:
- Recognize the fundamental right to vote without harassing conduct;
- Require military or overseas ballots to be counted if postmarked by Election Day;
- Provide voters the right to verify identity with photo ID or signed statement;
- Provide the voter right to a single application to vote absentee in all elections;
- Require state-funded absentee-ballot drop boxes, and postage for absentee applications and ballots;
- Provide that only election officials may conduct post-election audits;
- Require nine days of early in-person voting;
- Allow donations to fund elections, which must be disclosed;
- Require canvass boards to certify election results based only on the official records of votes cast.
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