Clerks and former clerks testify in support
By Kristine Christlieb, MFEI News & Commentary Editor
March 10, 2025
If the Michigan House Election Integrity Committee hearing March 4, 2025, was any indication, House Joint Resolution B (HJR-B), amending the state constitution to require proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ballot, is facing stiff opposition.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s Deputy Director Aghogho Edevbie gave extensive testimony opposing the joint resolution and claiming the Committee “for partisan reasons” wants to undo all of Benson’s voter successes with a “short-sighted and anti-voter proposal that we know, we know, will harm voters and prevent thousands of people from voting.”
Edevbie, who announced in late January his candidacy for Secretary of State, was followed by a phalanx of nonprofit lobbyists representing the American Civil Liberties Union, Promote the Vote, and Voters Not Politicians. Dozens of other organizations and individuals were not able to comment because of time constraints, but former clerk and Chairwoman Rachelle Smit read their names and organizations into the record as opposing the joint resolution.
“These are organizations with full-time staff paid to monitor election legislation,” explained Patrice Johnson, founder and chair of Michigan Fair Elections Institute. “They develop talking points for legislators who oppose election integrity and help draft new legislation that undermines the security of our elections.”
Clerks Weigh In
The nonprofit opponents to HJR-B were confronted with testimony from two former clerks, who are current legislators in the House, and a clerk currently serving in Barry County.
Michigan Representative Ann Bollin, who has 16 years’ experience as a clerk, told the committee, the only voices opposing HJR-B “are the left-leaning organizations like the Center for American Progress, the Brennan Center, and Jocelyn Benson.”
She added, “These are the same people that have advocated for loosening all the rules over the past six years and who have routinely tried to blame the loss of public trust in our elections only on the loudest voice in the room, ignoring the voices of millions of people across this county and this state who have witnessed first-hand the disruption in our election process and the removal of many checks and balances in our state laws. This is just another case of media management by select think tank and nonprofits funded with dark money.”
Representative Jay DeBoyer who spent 12 years as a county clerk also testified. “Any time someone who is not eligible otherwise to cast a ballot in an election and does so and that ballot is tabulated and counted, it has taken someone’s individual right to cast their vote legally.”
“Representative DeBoyer is talking about a kind of voter suppression that isn’t often discussed,” said Johnson. “An illegal vote has the effect of canceling out someone’s legal vote and suppressing that person’s voice.”
According to Michigan Advance, it was an illegal vote in the November 2024 election that motivated Representative Bryan Posthumus to introduce the joint resolution in January.
The incident occurred on October 30 when a Chinese national studying at the University of Michigan attested to his eligibility to vote as a citizen, registered with a student ID, voted the same day, and had his vote tabulated. According to the Secretary of State’s office, even if the vote is found to be illegally cast, it cannot be withdrawn from the vote count.
Irving Township Deputy Clerk Shelly Lake also offered support for the resolution, telling the committee, “Never have I heard a voter complain about being asked for ID. We don’t require it, but we do ask for it. On the contrary, they say, ‘Thank you for asking and please make our elections secure.’”
What Happens Next?
A joint resolution is one of the ways an amendment to the state constitution can get on the state-wide ballot. The process involves the following steps:
The joint resolution is introduced in one of the two legislative chambers.
It is reviewed in that chamber’s appropriate committee. Hearings are held. This is what happened March 4.
The resolution goes to the floor of the chamber where the resolution was introduced, and there it is debated, amendments are introduced and finally a vote is taken; it must pass by 2/3 majority.
The resolution goes to the second chamber for similar action; again, 2/3 majority is required for passage.
If the joint resolution passes both chambers, it goes on the next general election ballot.
“It’s unlikely this joint resolution will get to the ballot using this route. It is more likely supporters will have to gather approximately 450,000 signatures for it to land on the 2026 ballot,” said Johnson.
Posthumus appears ready for the possibility. The Committee to Protect Voters’ Rights has been formed to help with the process.
If the resolution makes it to the 2026 general election ballot, odds are in its favor to pass. Both verification of citizenship and photo ID are strongly supported by voters.
Kristine Christlieb serves as senior correspondent on MFEI's communications team. She publishes Trust but Verify on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/trustbutverifyreport/p/voter-registration-blitzkrieg?r=2haa2x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
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