Reader urges no vote on Proposal 2

Reader urges no vote on Proposal 2

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Dear Editor,                                                      

The following are many aspects of Proposal 2.

Proposal 2 would inhibit the enactment of any law that interferes with the fundamental right to vote.  But this is unnecessary because the right to vote is already covered in the Michigan Constitution (Article 2, Section 4), which defines the right to vote as “the right, once registered, to vote in a secret ballot in all elections.”

It would allow a signed affidavit as an alternative to the photo ID requirement.  Photo IDs are required for everything from purchasing cigarettes and alcohol to cashing checks.  Nearly all adults have photo IDs, but if perchance someone is in need of one, the cost of a state ID is only $10, but it can be gotten for free if someone cannot afford it.  Not requiring a photo ID increases the likelihood of non-citizens voting.

At taxpayer expense, drop boxes would be legalized and would be in every municipality, available 24 hours a day for 40 days prior to the election!  Has anybody seen the movie 2000 Mules?  It shows people dropping thousands and thousands of fraudulent absentee ballots into drop boxes, sometimes a single person dropping10 or 20 at a time.

If that weren’t bad enough, when an absentee ballot application is submitted, this single application would cover all future elections under this proposal!  Imagine the fraud!

In addition, the taxpayers would be required to foot the bill for pre-paid postage to return absentee ballots and absentee ballot applications.  And taxpayers would also pay for a system to track and update the status of submitted absentee ballots and absentee ballot applications.

It would enshrine early voting into our Constitution, requiring, again at taxpayer expense, early voting sites to be open a minimum of eight hours per day for nine consecutive days prior to Election Day.

Currently our state constitution protects our right to audit statewide elections.  But under Proposal 2 only the Secretary of State could conduct statewide election audits, and nobody else could have any role in the direction or supervision of such an election audit.  This is egregious! 

Under Proposal 2 our elections would be more expensive and much more susceptible to fraud.  So please vote no on Proposal 2.

Laura Krentz

Rothbury