Michigan Senate GOP relaxes bill to close drop boxes early
By DAVID EGGERTMay 6, 2021 GMT
LANSING, Mich. (AP) Senate Republicans on Wednesday relaxed legislation that would have prohibited the use of absentee ballot drop boxes on Election Day, instead proposing to close them at 5 p.m. three hours before Michigan polls close.
The change, which did not appease opponents, was announced as the GOP-led Senate Elections Committee held its third hearing on measures in a 39-bill package, parts of which would restrict the absentee voting process.
Sen. Ed McBroom, a Vulcan Republican, said officials in Detroit the state’s largest city faced a “huge burden” collecting and counting thousands of ballots in drop boxes in November’s presidential election.
Proposed financial disclosure bills wouldn’t make current lawmakers’ finances public
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A new proposal in the Michigan House would compel lawmakers and state officers to disclose their personal financial interests for the first time but that information wouldn’t be public until after they leave office, an arrangement that if signed into law, would diverge significantly from the 48 other states that currently require financial disclosure.
Michigan has long been an outlier when it comes to identifying and regulating potential financial conflicts of interest for elected officials. It’s one of two states – and the only one with a full-time legislature – with no requirement for state public officials to disclose basic financial information, including income sources, business investments, gifts and travel compensation.
Stagebridge Launches FINDING OURSELVES IN AMERICA
The lineup includes Emil Guillermo, Robert Kikuchi-Yngoji and Nancy Wang, and M.J. Kang.by BWW News Desk
Stagebridge and Asian American Storytellers in Unity join forces to uplift the diverse cultures and heritage of the Asian American and Pacific Islander diaspora in FINDING OURSELVES IN AMERICA: ASIAN AMERICAN VOICES.
As a direct response to the recent anti-Asian attacks across the United States, this one-of-a-kind digital event brings together 16 nationally-recognized storytellers for a stimulating and informative gathering. Through personal narratives, historical stories, folktales, art and music, these storytellers will elevate immigration experiences, discrimination, struggles with self-identity, and cross-cultural understanding.
Why Michigan Republicans’ attack on voting rights is ‘particularly anti-democratic’ Sam Levine in New York and Tom Perkins in Detroit
On the surface, the Republican effort to roll back voting rights in Michigan looks similar to what’s happening in states around the country: after Donald Trump narrowly lost a key battleground state where there was record turnout, Republicans are moving swiftly to implement sweeping restrictions to curtail access to the ballot box.
But the effort is raising unique concerns. Even though the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is likely to veto a package of dozens of pending bills to curb voter access, Republicans are already hinting they will use a loophole to implement the measures anyway. They can take advantage of a quirk in Michigan’s law allowing voters to send a bill to the legislature if just over 340,000 voters sign a petition asking them to take it up. These kinds of bills cannot be vetoed by the gover
Mon 26 Apr 2021 06.00 EDT
Last modified on Mon 26 Apr 2021 06.02 EDT
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On the surface, the Republican effort to roll back voting rights in Michigan looks similar to whatâs happening in states around the country: after Donald Trump narrowly lost a key battleground state where there was record turnout, Republicans are moving swiftly to implement sweeping restrictions to curtail access to the ballot box.
But the effort is raising unique concerns. Even though the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is likely to veto a package of dozens of pending bills to curb voter access, Republicans are already hinting they will use a loophole to implement the measures anyway. They can take advantage of a quirk in Michiganâs law allowing voters to send a bill to the legislature if just over 340,000 voters sign a petition asking them to take it up. These kinds of bills cannot be vetoed by the governor.