Now voters will only be able to vote for each office one by one. “It’s time to choose people over politics”, Snyder said.
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Democrats accused majority GOP lawmakers of seeking partisan gain, particularly in down-ballot races, by doing away with the convenient, popular straight-ticket option. She says it’s an effort to by anti-tax conservatives to shift the balance in local elections so voters are more likely to reject millage requests.
Johnson told The Associated Press that enacting no-reason absentee voting legislation would alleviate local clerks’ fears of longer lines caused by people needing more time to vote. The appropriation makes the bill referendum-proof.
Gov. Rick Snyder and Flint Mayor Karen Weaver plan to meet to discuss the city’s drinking water crisis days after Snyder declared a state of emergency in Genesee County.
The straight-party voting option has been abolished by nine other states in the last 20 years, including nearby Wisconsin and IL. The Senate, however, uncoupled the bills and the Legislature ultimately sent Snyder only the straight-party repeal legislation.
~It leads to longer lines at the polls, which disenfranchises voters. “One of them takes call-in questions and frequently they get questions about taxation and county proposals, county initiatives and in this case, as I understand the law, if they respond that’s a $20,000 fine”.
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MI is among 13 states to not allow for some form of early voting or no-reason absentee voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Senate Elections and Government Reform Committee Chairman David Robertson, R-Grand Blanc, has also said he opposes no-reason absentee voting because voting should not be “effortless” and candidates should have time to “fully develop their candidacies and fully develop the issues of those candidacies”.
