Some Michigan House Democrats are making voter reform a primary goal for the new session.
With only two session days of the year under their belt, several lawmakers have introduced legislation that would, among other things, allow no reason absentee voting and automatic voter registration.
State Rep. Abdullah Hammoud, D-Dearborn, is a bill sponsor. He said these bills packages are long overdue.
“We are coming off of the elections and there was a lot of – there’s still a lot of talk regarding the elections, the lack of turnout,” he said. “And these bills would help improve turnout.”
House Republicans made a push in the final weeks of last year to pass voter identification laws that Democrats criticized as restricting voter rights.
Hammoud said he is passionate about voting rights, although this isn’t a direct response to the previous Republican efforts.
“I thought that was just an attack on voting rights and more than just an attack, you’re trying to add an additional layer of complexity to the election process,” he said.
Hammoud also introduced a bill to require a disclaimer on robocalls the 60 days before an election day.
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