To the editor:

I have written very few Letters to the Editor over the many years I’ve been fortunate enough to be on this planet. I am moved to write this one because of my concerns about the integrity of our electoral process and what seems to me to be a deliberate attempt on the part of a group called “Secure the Vote” to bypass the will of the electorate in the state of Michigan.

In 2018 Michigan passed a ballot measure that made it easier to vote and easier to vote absentee. Eight voting policies were added to the Michigan Constitution, including straight-ticket voting, automatic voter registration, same-day voter registration, and no-excuse absentee voting. In 2020, Michigan had the most secure election ever. Over 5.5 million people voted and over 3.2 million were absentee.

Politicians of all persuasions attested to the security of our vote and in Michigan, The Michigan Senate Oversight Committee, chaired by Republican Edward McBroom, investigated the 2020 election. It found “This Committee found no evidence of widespread or systematic fraud in Michigan’s prosecution of the 2020 election.” In fact, it found no evidence of any fraud.

Yet, even with that data, Secure the Vote is seeking to make it harder for properly registered voters to get access to the ballot box. Why do we want to make it harder for registered voters to cast their ballot?

— The proposal will make it harder to get an absentee ballot application by prohibiting local and state officials from sending you an application unless you specifically ask for it. To send an application is to invite you to vote, something that is integral to a democracy.

— The proposal will make it impossible for local charities to help local governments be more efficient in running elections. They will not be able to contribute to help provide, for instance, a secured drop box for absentee applications – even though they will be able to contribute to help police obtain bulletproof vests or to fund a park. Why would we want to make it harder for local charities to make it easier to vote?

— The proposal will require personally identifiable information on absentee ballot and registration applications, exposing your valuable information to ID theft unnecessarily. This despite there being no evidence of any fraud in absentee ballot voting.

We already require Voter ID to vote and if the voter fails to bring it, they can sign an affidavit that it exists.

We have to question why Secure the Vote exists at all. They have declared that their primary goal is not to bring the question to the voters, but on the basis of about 350,000 signatures allow the legislature to pass these changes to the constitution without Gubernatorial oversight nor the will of the people.

If the people of the state of Michigan have voted resoundingly to make voting more accessible, it is extraordinary that a group is attempting to reverse that pattern without taking responsibility for their behavior.

If you are presented with their petition over the next few months, please do not sign without fully reading, and researching the petition. If you choose to sign it, please know that this is not to bring the issue to the people in the state of Michigan but it is in fact a deliberate attempt to deny the voters’ ability to make their wishes known.