LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, who served as Michigan secretary of state from 2011 to 2018, issued the following statement after voting against Senate Bills 367, 370 and 373 as part of a larger bipartisan package intended to implement provisions from Proposal 2 of 2022:
“I am proud we were able to secure amendments today to ensure that we will not continue to mail absentee ballots to voters we know have moved to another state and to restore existing Michigan law to require video monitoring of absentee ballot drop boxes.
“While supporting the commonsense reforms, I opposed other bills in this package because they go far beyond just implementing Proposal 2 and include measures that will weaken the integrity of Michigan’s elections by stripping out protections designed to keep our elections secure and fair.
“These bills would allow the secretary of state to wield unprecedented power to set procedures for early voting without going through the normal rulemaking process, which is designed to allow for public input and for oversight by the people’s elected representatives in the Legislature.
“The changes made by Proposal 2 are perhaps the most significant reforms to our elections in state history — yet, under these bills, the secretary of state will be allowed to write the rules for these changes without this important check and balance. That is simply not right or transparent.”
Senate Bills 367-374 now head to the House of Representatives for consideration.
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