<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1yeNtN_0vaG5vBT00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1yeNtN_0vaG5vBT00" width="1920" height="1080" > LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The Michigan Senate has passed the Michigan Voting Rights Act, a pack of 4 bills that legislators say will strengthen election security and make voting more accessible to the state’s residents. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> The Michigan Voting Rights Act is composed of Senate Bills 401, 402, 403, and 404: <ul><li> Senate Bill 401 would prohibit local governments and state agencies from enacting any practices that would create a disparity in political participation of any protected class and other citizens, as well as creating a process for handling violations of the Michigan Voting Rights Act. </li><li> Senate Bill 402 would create a Voting and Elections Database that would function to make election and voting data accessible to the public. </li><li> Senate Bill 403 would require local governments to provide comprehensive language assistance for elections and allow constituents to file a grievance if they fail to do so. </li><li> Senate Bill 404 would amend Michigan election law in a variety of ways, including requiring a local government to provide timely notice regarding changes to election methods, prescribing a process for seeking voting assistance, and getting rid of the requirement that election inspectors reject the ballot of someone who allows someone else to see it. </li></ul><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> See the full descriptions of the bills below: <a href="https://www.wlns.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2024/09/MVRA.pdf" id="wp-block-file--media-33ffa7a3-1b03-4a44-968d-e86cd1783096" rel="nofollow"> MVRA </a><a class="wp-block-file__button wp-element-button" href="https://www.wlns.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2024/09/MVRA.pdf" rel="nofollow"> Download </a> Some state officials believe that these bills would make elections more accessible to Michiganders, including Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. “Every Michigan voter deserves access to fair, secure elections and no citizen should be unfairly denied the right to vote,” said Secretary Benson. “The Michigan Voting Rights Act will not only build on the federal Voting Rights Act but will add new protections at the state level to shield us from future attacks on our democracy.” However, other state politicians believe that these bills would reduce voter privacy and place new burdens on local election officials, including former Secretary of State and current Michigan Senator Ruth Johnson (R-24). <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> “These bills would cost taxpayers millions of dollars and create new obstacles for our clerks and local units of government that are simply unnecessary,” said Johnson. “These bills go far beyond the voting rights protections already afforded to all of our citizens under both the U.S. and Michigan constitutions, and they would create a huge new bureaucracy under the secretary of state that would help interest groups sue our local units of government and our hardworking clerks.” Johnson sponsored two amendments to Senate Bill 404: one that would prohibit candidates or family members from distributing food or beverages to voters inside of a polling location, and one that would only allow that distribution to happen outside of the polls. Both of these were defeated. “Alarmingly, these measures would also set a dangerous precedent — and eviscerate long-standing norms about the sanctity of polling places — by allowing individuals who are not voters to actually&nbsp;polling locations and interact with voters waiting in line,” said Johnson. “Once voters are already inside a polling location, there is no good justification to say that allowing food and beverage distribution during the voters’ brief visit would outweigh the privacy rights of voters.” <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. <a href="https://www.wlns.com" rel="nofollow"> For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. </a></div></body>

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LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The Michigan Senate has passed the Michigan Voting Rights Act, a pack of 4 bills that legislators say will strengthen election security and make voting more accessible to the state’s residents. The Michigan Voting Rights Act is composed of Senate Bills 401, 402, 403, and 404: See the full descriptions of […]