Whitmer vetoes election bills Michigan GOP says will restore faith in elections

Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed two Republican-backed election bills, arguing they "fail to advance" secure elections.

"How do we provide safe and secure elections in our state if the governor can’t even agree that we should be ensuring dead people aren’t on our voting rolls?" a sponsor of one the bills, Republican state Sen. Michael MacDonald, said in a statement following Whitmer's vetoes on Friday.

One of the vetoed bills would have revised the administrative process for removing dead people from voter lists and required more frequent checks during the 45-day period before an election.

The bill passed through the state Senate and House with bipartisan support, and some clerks said the change would be welcomed.

Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum told the Detroit Free Press she had testified in favor of the change and said Friday she still supports the concept but had not discussed the veto with Whitmer.

"I trust the governor to realize and know that the GOP has made election administration a political issue," Byrum, a former Democratic state lawmaker, said.

Whitmer argued the measure added "burdensome requirements that would distract from core election administration responsibilities."

"Every citizen of Michigan has the constitutionally-guaranteed right to vote and deserves to exercise that right in safe and secure elections," Whitmer wrote in a letter explaining her vetoes on Friday. "Enrolled Senate Bills 277 ... (Read more)

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