LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Jonathan Lindsey has introduced legislation to reinstate certain absentee voting standards that would place the responsibility to register with voters and with local clerks to verify their information.

“This bill would restore sensible standards to Michigan’s absentee ballot process,” said Lindsey, R-Coldwater. “I believe people should have a sound reason to vote absentee. Universal, no-questions-asked absentee ballots open the door for fraud and errors, undermine our election day process and civic engagement, and make it more difficult for Michiganders to cast their ballots in private or without third-party influence.”

Lindsey’s legislation, Senate Bill 1054, would restore the previously existing categories that qualified a voter to receive an absentee ballot. These categories would include physical disability, religious obligation, election inspector duties, being 60 or older, or absence from your polling location during voting, for instance, serving in the military.

Lindsey contends election integrity and concerns surrounding absentee ballots opening the door for fraud have traditionally been a bipartisan issue. The senator referenced the findings of a federal committee, chaired by former President Jimmy Carter, that was created to address potential election integrity issues after the 2000 Florida and 2004 Ohio election controversies, which found that absentee ballots are “likely to increase the risks of fraud and of contested elections…”

The senator added the large push for no-questions-asked absentee voting in recent years is rightfully raising concerns for people, and that because Michigan has adopted nine days of in-person voting, the need to vote by absentee ballot has been greatly diminished.

“Potential issues surrounding absentee ballots aren’t new and have been raised by residents across all levels of the political spectrum,” Lindsey said. “I hope we can restore the bipartisan nature of election integrity and work on approving these commonsense reforms. It is critical to maintaining voter confidence.”

SB 1054 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Elections and Ethics.

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