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Howdy, Michigan. Hayley, here again with the news you need to understand our pleasant peninsulas’ election landscape.

The biggest news from around the state? We are inching closer to potentially seeing a proof-of-citizenship effort on our ballots this fall. Americans for Citizens Voting dropped off signatures yesterday for its initiative that would require registering voters to prove their citizenship and force already-registered voters to prove theirs  if it can’t be independently verified by the state. I wrote about the effort last summer, when organizers won petition approval. You can read the full text of the petition here.

Americans for Citizens Voting said it turned in 750,000 signatures, which would be well over the roughly 450,000 required by state law. It’s not clear when the state will verify if the proposal will be on the ballot. An MDOS spokesperson told my friends at The Detroit News that the Bureau of Elections would likely begin reviewing signatures for ballot initiatives after it reviews candidate filings, which aren’t required to be certified until May.

A number of powerful Republican state legislators, including Sen. Ruth Johnson (a former secretary of state) and Reps. Ann Bollin and Rachelle Smit (both former local clerks), applauded the effort. In a statement, Bollin said she “applaud(s) this campaign to restore integrity” while Johnson said the “level of support shows that Michigan voters are paying attention and expect accountability.”

But voting rights groups are … not in favor, to put it lightly. A statement from Christine McGillibray, executive director of Voters Not Politicians, began with some colorful language (“Fuck this shit, actually”) and continued by saying that 700,000 eligible citizens don’t have easy access to the required paperwork. 

Micheal Davis Jr., executive director of Promote the Vote Action, said the initiative will result “in the disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of eligible American citizens across the state,” calling it “voter suppression, pure and simple.” Both groups vowed to fight the effort. 

On Tuesday, the House Election Integrity Committee had a spirited hearing on House Bill 4765, which would also require documentary proof of citizenship at the state level despite the preexisting federal requirement. 

And that’s all before we even get to the other proof-of-citizenship petition effort and  proposed constitutional amendment that didn’t gain enough support to make it through the House. Plus, of course, the federal efforts we’ve seen as well.

As you may remember from my last newsletter or my chat with Michigan Public last week, I’m interested to see how Michigan voters will respond to such efforts. An October 2024 Gallup poll found that 83% of people supported proof of citizenship when registering. I haven’t seen a ton of statewide data, though — I’ll keep an eye out for that.

I’ve found that a lot of people have questions on this, which is why I’ll keep writing about it as more news comes forward. If you have anything you’re wondering on this or other election topics, I’d love to hear from you — you can email me directly at [email protected], or I’m also on Twitter and Bluesky.

And if you have anyone else in your life who might like these dispatches from everyone’s favorite mitten-shaped swing state, please tell them to subscribe! They can of course do that right here.

In the meantime, please enjoy this exclusive picture of my sweet baby bunnies. I promise they do things other than nap, but napping is a big part of their day-to-day agenda and I am not going to be the one to interrupt it.

Some of the most potato-shaped critters of all time.