LANSING — Today, state Senate Republicans are taking the first major legislative step to perpetuate the Big Lie that the 2020 general election was stolen from Trump. Right now, the Republican-controlled Elections Committee is convening for a hearing on legislation that was introduced in March as part of the disastrous 39-bill package described by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson as “more restrictive than Georgia’s.”
Moving in lockstep with the national Republican effort to stifle the democratic process, the bills introduced in Michigan would take square aim at the electoral freedoms enjoyed by voters on both sides of the aisle. Provisions range from banning the current ability to access absentee ballot applications online to prohibiting clerks from supplying prepaid return postage for absentee ballots, garnering bipartisan criticism from election officials across Michigan.
“In kicking off the first of these hearings today, state Senate Republicans are going all in on sowing deadlock, disruption, and chaos in the election certification process,” said Rodericka Applewhaite, MDP spokesperson. “Reminder: We are still in the middle of a pandemic. It’s a complete breakdown in priority-setting for Republicans in Lansing to be attacking voters with unnecessary barriers to democracy while Michiganders are in need of solutions that will combat COVID-19 and help our economy recover faster. Equipped to do just that, Governor Whitmer has been executing a massive push to get shots in arms and safely get Michigan back to work. We recommend Republicans drop the Big Lie charade and assist with these efforts.”
