Over the last four years, Americans have become aware of the need for election integrity unlike ever before. We have witnessed progressive Leftists doing all in their power to not only codify processes that would further inhibit fairness and integrity, but also bind the hands of those who would legally question and investigate the results of questionable elections. Such things lessen transparency and undermine the people’s faith in our government on every level.
We are seeing another attempt to usurp the people’s power in the state of Michigan; we need to let our voices be heard that this will not be tolerated. I’ll give you a call to action below, but first let’s understand, from our founders’ point of view, why this is so important.
Thomas Jefferson said “Let the national government be entrusted with the defense of the nation, and its foreign and federal relations; the State governments with the civil rights, laws, police, and administration of what concerns the State generally; the counties with the local concerns of the counties, and each ward direct the interests within itself. It is by dividing and subdividing these republics from the great national one down through all its subordinations, until it ends in the administration of every man’s farm by himself; by placing under every one what his own eye may superintend, that all will be done for the best.” (emphasis added)
Such division of power between various levels of government is called federalism and it’s the basis for our constitutional republic. Its purpose is to prevent the concentration of power, giving to each level of government only those powers that cannot be handled at a lower level. Keeping power at the lowest level of government possible creates the greatest freedom and puts at each man’s fingertips the greatest amount of say and responsibility over his own life and that of his family. In this way, federalism is a form of government which helps us to “love our neighbor as ourself.”
Last week, Michigan’s Senate has attempted to wrest this freedom and responsibility from our hands by passing some of the most dangerous and radical legislation in the Great Lakes State’s history. Pure Integrity Michigan Elections (PIME) states, “Senate Bills 401, 402, 403, and 404 threaten the fiber of our individual freedoms and our constitutional republic. These bills, deceptively named the Michigan Voter Rights Act, threaten each citizen’s right to cast a secret ballot and to have local government control. This week, these bills could be voted out of the House Elections Committee and rushed to the House floor for a vote. Then Gov. Whitmer (D) will sign the bill package into law.”
To help you better understand what this bundle of bills stand for and how they want to take your voice away, I’m including here a sample letter (from PIME) that explains what each bill does.
Dear Representative,
I’m writing to urge you to vote NO on the “Michigan Voter Rights Act” (MVRA). This package of bills (Senate Bills 401 – 404) is an example of extreme government overreach and is quite likely the most radical, ill-advised, and expensive legislation to come before you. If the House passes these dangerous bills and the MVRA is enacted into law, the Legislature will lose its regulatory authority over elections and hand its constitutionally prescribed powers over to state courts and the executive branch.
These bills give the secretary of state unprecedented power over local governments. They authorize ranked choice voting, an un-auditable violation of the fundamental one-person, one-vote principle. They create a bottomless pit of funding for state-sponsored lawfare against local governments and citizens. The bills provide unfair advantage to select new categories of “protected status” residents.
Last week, the Senate passed SB 401-404 and referred them to the House Elections Committee. If voted out of committee, the bills will go to the House floor for a vote.
SB 401 empowers court-appointed monitors to oversee local elections for up to 10 years. It legalizes ranked choice voting and forces local governments to notify the secretary of state’s office before changing so much as the location of a ballot drop box. The bill creates a bottomless pit of funding for lawfare against local government and citizens. It provides unfair financial advantage of up to $50,000 in campaign financing to “protected class” candidates of “color” or “language,” ignoring federal anti-discrimination laws. The new Michigan Voting Rights Assistance Fund would operate in perpetuity and accept state monies “from charitable contributions or from any other source.”
It is important to note that SB 401 extends protected class status to “color” and “language.” Although the bill references the already protected classes of “race” and “disability,” it fails to include other federally protected classes, including gender, age (40+), veteran status, and religious beliefs. This is an important distinction because members of a protected class are often exempt from standard identity verification, and they enjoy special benefits.
SB 402 establishes an ‘institute’ for collecting proprietary election data outside of a government entity. It sets a dangerous precedent and breaches privacy rights and the public trust.
SB 403 mandates language assistance for elections, and it assigns the enormous cost of compliance to local city and township governments. Not only does this bill place an unreasonable financial burden on local government, it places a heavy burden on election day processes at the precincts. Townships and municipalities that fall short are subject to state-funded lawfare and to state government oversight for up to 10 years!
SB 404 legalizes electioneering and threatens citizens’ sacred right to a secret ballot. It erodes voter privacy and places unnecessary burdens on local election officials.
In conclusion, SB 401-404 are a threat to election integrity on multiple fronts. These bills hand the legislature’s authority to regulate elections over to the state courts and the executive branch. They insert unfair bias and kill local government control. They encourage electioneering and introduce costly and un-auditable ranked choice voting. These bills create unfair advantage to select new “protected classes” of residents while ignoring federal anti-discrimination laws.
Bottom-line, these bills give authoritarian control to state government over local government, and they trample on individual rights. See: Michigan Senate passes slate of integrity killing bills called “Michigan Voting Rights Act.”
Please vote NO on the “Michigan Voter Rights Act,” Senate Bills 401 – 404.
Sincerely,
[Your Name
Address
Phone]
(END OF SAMPLE LETTER)
PIME suggests the following actions – PLEASE ACT TODAY!
CHAIR
MAJORITY VICE CHAIR
MINORITY VICE CHAIR
To contact your state representative, click here:
Find My Michigan House Representative
Alert these representatives to the dangers of these bills. Let them know you are watching how they vote.
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