LANSING, Mich. (Oct. 7, 2021) — Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) today issued the following statement after the Republican-controlled Senate passed Senate Bills 303 and 304, which create additional barriers to voting in Michigan:
“We already have voter ID laws in Michigan. Adding additional hurdles will make it more difficult for our seniors, disabled persons, students, immigrants, and anyone who doesn’t drive to vote. And when you make it more difficult for them, you are making it more difficult for anyone living in urban areas with busy precincts. Because when someone who might not have an ID gets to the front of the line, there will be a disagreement about whether or not their vote will count, holding up everyone else in line. It means longer lines in communities like Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Flint. But, unfortunately, that is exactly what this legislation is designed to do. Make it harder to vote, make longer lines, and discourage people from voting.
“What the legislature should be doing is focusing on guaranteeing equal access to the polls. When people in one community have to wait four hours to vote, and people in another can walk in and out in 10 minutes, that is not equal access. We should be fixing this, not making it worse.”
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