Lansing — Changing absentee voting and improving polling areas were key parts of recommendations made Wednesday by Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land before the Senate Campaign and Election Oversight committee.
Creating a simpler process of absentee voting for college students and preregistering teenagers to vote at 16 years old were issues that would help the process run smoother for students, Land said.
Creating an option for first-time voters to come into a secretary of state’s office before they go to college would make the process simpler, Land said. Once in college, those students would be able to receive an absentee ballot, despite not voting in person the first time.
Land also addressed enforcing a law allowing voters to sign an affidavit if they did not have proper identification at the polling place.
“(Voter ID is) a vehicle to identify voters who reside within a particular area,” said Kelly Chesney, spokeswoman for Land. “The law anticipates not all voters will have identification.”
The affidavit process says if a person is on the precinct list at their polling place and they show up without ID, they will still be able to vote, and their ballot will be counted. The person would have to prove their identity later, Land said.
People who show up to a polling place without identification or are not on the precinct list would be given a provisional ballot.
New technology in absentee voting would be beneficial to Michigan citizens overseas, Land said.
“We e-mail them the ballots, they print them off and mail it back,” Land said.
A $100 million federal grant was given to the Michigan Department of State, much of which has already been spent to improve technology at polling places, Land said.
“We have a shared responsibility to ensure that election laws keep pace with advancing technology and evolving campaign tactics,” Land said in a press release.
Land also spoke of other issues which could be solved with technology, including the use of electronic poll books. The books would allow a poll worker to swipe a voter’s ID. When their name comes up, the worker would issue a ballot. The electronic system would allow precincts workers to complete their jobs more quickly.
The committee did not make any decisions on Land’s recommendations, however, they will go across the state taking recommendations on how to make polling places more efficient, said Sen. Michelle McManus, R-Lake Leelanau, the committee’s chairwoman.
The committee will continue its statewide hearings in Saginaw next week.
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