Tag Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson

Republicans protest: ‘Proving who you are before you vote is a very basic concept that the vast majority of Michigan voters support.’

Surprising no one, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed several GOP election reform bills on Friday.

“Access to the ballot box is a right, and I will continue to fight any attempt to limit the right to vote,” Whitmer tweeted.

She vetoed Senate Bill (SB) 303, 304, and House Bill 5007.

The first bill sought to require stricter voter ID measures. Voters seeking an absentee ballot would have to submit a copy of their driver’s license or state ID, provide the last four digits of their Social Security number, or present ID to the city clerk in which the voter is registered. If the applicant could not provide the above information, the clerk would have been required to issue a provisional absentee voter ballot that wouldn’t count unless the applicant verified their identity to the clerk before 5 p.m. on the sixth day after election day.

The bill aimed to prohibit election officials from sending out absentee ballot applications unless they are specifically requested. Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson sent out absentee ballot applications before the 2020 presidential election, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason to make socially distanced voting easier.

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Democrat Attorney General Dana Nessel argues the excess contributions must be returned or donated if a recall election isn’t called.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer may have to return $3.4 million in campaign funds received from major donors.

Whitmer’s 2022 re-election campaign war chest accepted the monies through what the GOP calls a loophole by which she avoided campaign donation rules. The so-called loophole relaxes contribution limits if an officeholder is faced with an ongoing reelection recall effort.

While several recall petitions have been filed against the governor, none are active or funded.

Whitmer raised a record $8.65 million in 2021 with $10.7 million cash on hand. Her strategy raised $3.4 million from 119 large donors including Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who gave $250,000. Attorney Mark Bernstein, brother of Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein, donated $257,150. Michigan election law caps campaign contributions at $7,150 per person.

In a Wednesday court filing on behalf of Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office argued the $3.4 million in excess must be “returned” or donated to a party or a charity if a recall election isn’t called.

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