Controversial election laws are now law in Michigan

(The Center Square) – Michigan’s process for handling election recounts and election fraud allegations has changed after Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed two controversial bills on Monday.

Senate Bills 603 and 604 change the requirements for conducting vote recounts and prosecuting election-related crimes.

“By signing our meaningful reforms to the recount bill today, we are strengthening our democracy and ensuring that we achieve the most accurate vote count possible in a recount process,” said sponsor state Democratic Senator Stephanie Chang of Detroit.

“This legislation achieves important goals: ensuring the security of every vote, modernizing our recount process, and giving Michigan voters a voice.”

Among other changes, the law will strip the Electoral College’s investigative powers and instead require it to refer all allegations of fraud to the appropriate district attorney rather than conducting a recount.

Only alleged errors can justify a recount, and only if the alleged errors could potentially change the election result.

It also proposes to increase the bail for filing a petition for a recount, amend various clerk policies, and change the sentencing guidelines for election law violations.

“For years, officials and candidates have called for reforms and updates to Michigan’s 70-year-old recount law so that every valid ballot can be recounted in close races,” said State Senator Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield), who co-sponsored the bill with Chang.

“This bill will strengthen the integrity of our electoral systems and ensure the accuracy of election results.”

Opponents say that eliminating the investigative powers of poll workers and removing protections against poll worker interference will make it more difficult to detect election fraud and endanger election security.

“Watering down protections is counterproductive when multiple warning signs have emerged in the state’s electoral process,” said Republican Rep. Jaime Greene of Richmond.

“For example, there is no system to determine whether someone is voting in multiple states. This is a real problem in the state of Michigan. This is demonstrated by the fact that the Secretary of State removed about 170,000 people who no longer live here from our voter rolls, and only after she was sued.”

The new laws will take effect immediately and apply to the primary elections in August.