LANSING — Hundreds of thousands of Michigan voters have signed a petition that could impact access to the ballot box statewide.
The Americans for Citizen Voting initiative proposes a new set of requirements in Michigan, including mandatory voter identification.
Supporters of the 2026 ballot drive say that they want to deter non-citizen voting, while opponents say they’re adding extra hoops to jump through for voters.
“This policy is not about protecting our elections, which we know have been proven time and time again by many audits as safe and secure,” said Merissa Kovach, Political Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan. “It’s about silencing voters.”
Opponents of the proposal also point to the fact that non-citizen voting is already illegal in state and federal law.
“This policy would especially harm naturalized citizens, voters who are low-income, voters who live in rural areas, first-time voters and a lot of married women — because the impact on someone who has changed their name will require them to go through additional hurdles, just to be able to vote in the same way that they’ve always voted,” Kovach said.
Currently, voters are required to provide their ID before voting, or sign a legal document saying they’re not in possession of one.
There are a few dozen cases in recent years of Michigan non-citizens voting and later being caught by authorities.
But in each case, those non-citizens’ votes were counted in the state’s final tally — since ballots are anonymous after they’re cast, it’s impossible to match any one to a specific voter.
“It is illegal to vote if you are not a citizen of the United States, absolutely — but there are no guardrails in place to prevent it from actually happening,” Posthumus said.
Organizers of the campaign argue that the policies strike a balance between security and accessibility.
“If someone doesn’t bring their ID to the polls, they can still vote — it’ll be a provisional ballot, and they have to go back and bring their ID and show that, yes, indeed, they are who they say they are,” said Paul Jacob, chairman of Americans for Citizen Voting.
The proposal has not yet secured its spot on the 2026 ballot. Organizers say they plan to continue collecting signatures in the coming weeks and submit around the end of the month.
While some groups disagreed on voter identification policies, a bipartisan consensus showed at least hesitation to the president’s suggestion that lawmakers “nationalize” elections in places like Detroit.
“We should be very cognizant and very concerned about any scenario where the federal government is stepping over the rights of individual states,” Rep. Bryan Posthumus, (R) District 90, Rockford. “Our 10th amendment is very clear that that states have the authority.”
Organizers of the voter ID campaign also opposed the involvement of the federal government.
“While Congress is probably going to be tied up in knots for the foreseeable future, unfortunately, the state of Michigan doesn’t have to be — and it’s going to be in the hands of the voters,” Jacob said.