Election clerks across Metro Detroit are urging lawmakers to get to work on new voting rules and the money to fund them after voters passed sweeping changes last November.
We could be seeing precinct change-ups, so where you vote could change. Some clerks may need new equipment, so how you vote could change, and all of it needs time and money to get it done.
After voters passed proposition 2, clerks across the state knew it wasn’t the end of a fight to expand voting access in earnest it was just the beginning.
Prop. 2, among many other things, made nine days of early voting a part of the state’s constitution, and it expanded how people can vote with early voting, in person, and guaranteed absentee voting. That means more work for clerks and not a lot of time to get it done.
“We want rules set as early and as quickly as possible. There’s a busy election year in 2024,” said Harrison Township Clerk Adam Wit.
Wit is the president of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks and the clerk for Harrison Township. He said clerks are pushing lawmakers to get moving on writing the new rules and setting aside more money.
“Trying to come up with a plan we’re going to be in the presidential primary,” said Wit.
The Harrison Township clerk said he is optimistic and that both sides of the aisle are aware this is important, whether it’s a priority is something clerks are trying to drive home.
“I think voting has been a focus for both parties, so I think they’re ready to address it,” said Wit.
The clerk said he’s hoping to have some of these changes and new rules in place for cities that have 2023 elections, like Ann Arbor, Lansing and Warren, to serve as test runs for the new laws to make sure they know where things work and where they don’t -- giving time to fix any issues before the presidential election next year.