Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson thanked Sens. Jack Brandenburg (R-Harrison Township), Mark Jansen (R-Grand Rapids) and David Robertson (R-Grand Blanc) on for their work on election legislation. Secretary of State Ruth Johnson Under Fire For Voter Citizenship Question
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Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson is being charged by a citizens group with illegally attempting to suppress the vote in November.
Johnson reportedly has defied fellow Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's veto of a bill to require clerks to ask if prospective voters are citizens.
Ms. Johnson said in the Adrian Telegram that clerks in three counties reported about 100 people stated they were not citizens on jury duty applications over a one- to three-month period, but were found to be registered voters after a thorough verification process.
"Oakland County Clerk Bill Bullard Jr., for example, reported 36 self-identified noncitizens registered to vote in Oakland County over a three-month period, with one individual showing a voting history," said Johnson.
Stephen Henderson, editorial page editor of The Detroit Free Press, cited his own experience at the polls in the August primary election:
"So Tuesday, before I got my ballot to vote, the precinct worker stopped and asked me if I was a citizen.
"Now, you have to be a citizen to register to vote. Everyone knows that. And you have to be a citizen to vote. Everyone knows that, too.
"Moreover, in July, Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed a Johnson-backed bill that would have required people to affirm their citizenship a second time at the polls. He said it could lead to confusion at the polls.
"But Johnson insisted on keeping the citizenship question atop the voter application forms you fill out before voting. And she sent a confusing message to poll workers, telling them that if people refused to answer the question, they were to be told that citizenship is a requirement for voting. And then given ballots."
The Port Huron Times Herald spanked Ms. Johnson over the snafu, as the newspaper called it in a headline: "It might have meant more had Michigan's Aug. 7 primary election defied tradition and actually drawn a large voter turnout. Secretary of State Ruth Johnson's meddling in the electoral process still was a minor disaster.
"Despite good reasons for not doing it, Johnson included a citizenship question in the ballot application voters are required to complete. The question asked voters if they were U.S. citizens, an inquiry that is redundant."
The main attack came from Bruce Fealk, of Rochester Hills,media coordinator of the Michigan Election Reform Alliance (MERA):
"Since October, 2011, Ruth Johnson and the staff of the Michigan Bureau of Elections have engaged in conduct which has caused election administrators in many jurisdictions in Michigan to put a barrier in the way of every voter's exercise of the right to vote.
"In a memo to every election administrator in the state, the Bureau ordered that the question, 'Are you a United States Citizen?' be printed on Applications to Vote. 'This question must be added to all Applications to Vote for all future elections, beginning with the February 28, 2012 Presidential Primary."
"In January, this order was followed by another: 'If voter answers 'no' or refuses to answer during the challenge process - Do NOT issue a ballot. Local clerk: follow procedures below for 'no' responses to notify/cancel these voters'."
Many applications to vote in Michigan's August 7 primary election continued to require a check-off as to whether the voter was a U.S. citizen. Voters in some jurisdictions reported that the ballot application citizenship question did not appear, but that they were asked the citizenship question verbally.
Citing its potential for causing confusion, Governor Snyder vetoed a bill in July that would have legally allowed for the placement of the citizenship question on the application. Subsequently, the citizenship question should not have appeared on any ballot applications anywhere in the state, said Fealk.
Numerous voters across the state have reported refusing to answer the citizenship question, Mr. Fealk said, and receiving threats that they would not be allowed to vote and that their voter registration would be cancelled.
According to MCL 168.932 (a) 'A person shall not attempt, by means of bribery, menace, or other corrupt means or device, either directly or indirectly, to influence an elector in giving his or her vote, or to deter the elector from, or interrupt the elector from, or interrupt the elector in giving his or her vote at any election held in this state.' Violation of MCL 168.932 (a) is a felony.
Fealk said one voter, Will Tyler White, attempted to file a criminal complaint with the Michigan State Police and was referred to the Attorney General's office. Receiving no response, he then tried to file a complaint with local law enforcement where he was successful in filing a criminal complaint against Secretary of State Ruth Johnson. Tyler's complaint was filed with the Meridian Township Police, complaint number 12-4216.
He said Carl Brooks of Ypsilanti Township went to the polls and presented the poll workers his enhanced driver's license which contains citizenship information. When Brooks questioned whether he had to answer the citizenship question since he possessed an enhanced driver's license, the poll worker told Brooks that it was the policy that the citizenship question had to be answered in order to receive a ballot and vote. Brooks felt that if he hadn't checked the citizenship box he would not have been allowed to vote.
According to the SOS Voter Information Center, Michigan has 7,333,484 registered voters who were at risk of confusion and interference while attempting to vote. Secretary of State Johnson justified the confusion of so many, with the claim that she suspected 36 persons of illegal registration due to non-citizenship.
During the August 10, 2012, edition of Tim Skubick's Off the Record, a discussion of the citizenship check box included former Republican State Representative and State Senator Bill Ballenger. Ballenger stated, "When I went in to vote, they asked me, 'are you a U.S. citizen?' Ballenger was then asked to see his driver's license. "Isn't one of the problems that people can get driver's licenses and they may not be citizens?"
Chad Livengood, Capitol reporter at the Detroit News, stated that when he voted, the questions regarding citizenship did not appear on the ballot application and Livengood asked the clerk where is the check off regarding my U.S. citizenship. Livengood reported that the poll worker stated, 'You don't have to, you showed us your I.D.' Livengood further questioned the poll worker, 'Are you sure there's not a citizenship check?' He then called the clerk and was told they may have had some old applications.
Jan BenDor, state wide coordinator for MERA (Michigan Election Reform Alliance), stated, "The Secretary of State should not be held above the law. Johnson and the Bureau of Elections must follow the law. Asking voters whether they are a citizen on an application to vote was not the law as of February 28 or August 7, 2012. Johnson needs to be held accountable for her actions. We also need her to pledge to withdraw all applications with the unauthorized question from future use."
Patricia Selby, Election Counsel and Manager of the Michigan Election Administration Program for Project Vote said, "The check box addition to the application to vote form is one more unnecessary and confusing hurdle between voters and their ballot. Secretary Johnson knows this, because confusion was the reason the governor vetoed this measure, but she persisted in implementing this illegal requirement. Democracy works best when every American participates. Secretary Johnson should be working to make voting more accessible and convenient for all voters in Michigan instead of wasting resources on unneeded hurdles to voting."
In an August 17, Oakland Press op-ed, Johnson said, "We did it to uphold the law and to protect anyone who inadvertently registered to vote from potentially committing a felony by giving one last reminder not to vote if not eligible." MERA said: "Ironically, Ms. Johnson may have committed a felony by ordering the citizenship question on the applications to vote, and instructing local Clerks to withhold ballots and cancel voter registration."
MERA is seeking to assist voters who felt intimidated at the polls or who were not allowed to vote in the August 7, 2012, primary election after they refused to answer the citizenship question on the application to vote. ###
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fromus2u Says:
On October 01, 2012
at 09:05 AM
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson censors the people's choice for President, by denying Gov. Gary Johnson / Judge Jim Gray a place on the Michigan ballot. Ms. Johnson, we want choice, not government censorship!
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Dave Rogers |
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