posted online Tuesday July 3, 2012 --
Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed significant portions of a Republican-crafted elections package this morning, a move likely to please critics who viewed the package as a means of voter suppression and infuriating GOP backers who viewed it as common sense reform.
Among the bills vetoed was one requiring photo ID for first voter registration or to obtain an absentee ballot, a requirement that African-American activists claimed was an attempt to deter voting by the urban poor.
Snyder said in a statement that “he appreciates the issue of ensuring voters are eligible and U.S. citizens, however this legislation could create voter confusion among absentee voters.”
Snyder did sign other election measures aimed at removing the names of dead or departed voters from the registration rolls, and several others aimed at providing better ballot security and more transparency for start-up political parties.
A spokesman for House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, released a statement after the vetoes were announced saying the speaker disagreed with Snyder’s decision.
"Speaker Bolger appreciates Gov. Snyder signing many election reforms today, but is deeply disappointed in the vetoes of other very reasonable reforms designed to protect the integrity of one of the most sacred rights in the United States,” said spokesman Ari Adler.
“The Speaker believes strongly that only U.S. citizens should be voting in U.S. elections. Having a simple checkbox on the registration also may protect non-citizens from placing themselves at legal risk by voting when they are not yet eligible.”
In a telephone interview, Adler said House backers of the legislation were aware the administration had concerns, but had thought they had been addressed before the package won final legislative approval. “This is fantastic news. We want to make sure voting is accessible for all Michigan residents,” said Jessica Tramontana, spokeswoman for Progress Michigan, a left-leaning advocacy organization. “To put unnecessary obstacles in the path to voting is ridiculous. So we applaud the governor’s veto.”
Snyder appeared at a meeting of the Council of Baptist Pastors in Detroit last week, where he heard concerns about the legislation and pleas to kill the three bills that he ended up vetoing.
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