Michigan ballot initiative proposes strict photo ID law

Conservative activists filed paperwork to put a strict photo ID requirement on the ballot in Michigan, the first step in an unusual legislative maneuver designed to enact restrictions despite opposition from the state’s Democratic governor.

A group calling itself Secure MI Vote filed paperwork with the state Bureau of Elections on Thursday, proposing a potential citizen’s initiative that would mandate strict photo ID for voting in-person and by mail, amongst other changes to the election code. Michigan already has a photo ID requirement, but voters can sign an affidavit attesting to their identify if they don’t have photo ID and vote normally.

It’s the latest effort by conservatives, who have sought to restrict access to the ballot box around the country. Fueled by former President Donald Trump’s stolen election lie, many states have advanced and enacted sweeping new election laws. Michigan lawmakers have sought to advance new restrictions like photo ID, too, but Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, said she would veto any such legislation.

Republicans, undeterred, have suggested a little-used quirk of the state constitution, which allows citizens to put an initiative on the ballot if they gather a certain number of signatures — at least 8 percent of the total number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial race. This year, that would be about 340,000 voters’ signatures.