This Proposed Constitutional Amendment Could Make Voting a Lot Harder

I was at Trader Joe’s in Grosse Pointe a few weeks ago, where a young man outside the store was collecting signatures on a ballot initiative sponsored by Americans for Citizen Voting. It would require Michigan voters to provide proof of citizenship to vote. He was asking customers “Do you want to sign a petition requiring voters to show ID?” This is not what the proposed amendment to the Michigan constitution calls for, and his question was either misinformed or purposely misleading. Here is the exact wording of the ballot initiative.

Showing ID is not the same as showing proof of citizenship. Proof of citizenship requires a document such as a birth certificate or passport. Not every eligible voter has a passport or easy access to their birth certificate. And what about married women whose current last name doesn’t match the one on their birth certificate? What hoops must they jump through to prove their citizenship?

According to the Michigan chapter of Americans for Citizen Voting, “Most people assume that in order to vote in the United States, a person must be a citizen of the United States. However, that’s not always the case — sometimes noncitizens do vote, legally or illegally.” Only half of this statement is true.

Under no circumstances are non-citizens allowed to vote in Michigan or any other state. On very rare occasions, non-citizens have voted illegally, usually as the result of misunderstanding or bureaucratic error, but seldom outright fraud.

Americans for Citizen Voting would have us believe that election fraud is a big problem, requiring us to create additional bureaucratic obstacles to voting. However, a state audit of Michigan’s votes cast in the 2024 presidential election revealed that only 15 out of 5.7 million votes were cast illegally. That’s 0.00028% - hardly reason to make it more difficult for millions of honest Michigan voters to exercise our rights.

It's always a good idea to know who’s funding any ballot initiative, as that gives you clues to the real goals behind it. In the age of “dark money,” it’s often difficult to determine, but we do know that one high-profile backer of this initiative is Republican state Senator and party chair, Jim Runestad. According to Issue One, a non-profit founded in 2013 “to reduce the influence of money in politics through bipartisan reform,” those backing the Americans for Citizen Voting proposal include a roster of leaders of conservative advocacy groups.

Another good idea is to ask detailed questions of the person circulating the petition. If they can’t answer questions about the substance of the proposed amendment and how it would work in practice, chances are good that they’re not volunteers but are being paid for each signature collected and may not support the measure themselves or even understand it. They have a financial incentive to tell you whatever they think you want to hear, whether it’s true or not.

We welcome dialogue on this and other political issues affecting us as Morningsiders, Michiganders, and US residents. If you have a different perspective to share, we’re happy to hear from you. Please contact us at morningsidecommunity2@gmail.com.