Ruth Johnson
State Senator and Former Michigan Secretary of State
I write to you today to share important information about the Citizen Only Voting Amendment, an initiative that seeks to strengthen THE SECURITY of our elections by clearly defining who may vote MISLEADING CLAIM Michigan already defines who may vote in its constitution. This language falsely implies voter eligibility is unclear or undefined when it is not. in our state and local elections.
What This Amendment Does:
- Clarifies that ONLY United States citizens are eligible to vote MISLEADING CLAIM Only U.S. citizens are already eligible to vote in Michigan elections. This is existing law, not a clarification of a gap. in state and local elections.
- Requires the Michigan Secretary of State to review and verify citizenship for all individuals listed in Michigan’s Qualified Voter File, and remove any voters whose citizenship cannot be confirmed PROBLEMATIC POLICY This promotes a mass verification and removal scheme. Such approaches are error-prone and risk disenfranchising eligible voters despite noncitizen voting being extremely rare. .
- Mandate that voters show government-issued photo ID when voting, while ensuring that free photo IDs are available to those who need them.
Our current system lacks a reliable mechanism to verify whether everyone on the voter rolls is actually eligible. MISLEADING CLAIM Michigan already conducts eligibility checks and investigates violations. State reviews show credible noncitizen voting is extremely rare.
By adopting this amendment, we would create a uniform, ongoing, systematic verification process to help ensure that only United States citizens are registered and voting.
The truth is that non-citizens voted in Michigan’s elections in 2024. MISLEADING CLAIM Rare cases occurred and were investigated. Michigan’s own post-election review found credible noncitizen voting was extremely rare relative to millions of ballots cast.
Over 80% of people support the use of photo ID to vote CONTEXT REQUIRED Polling has shown high support for voter ID, but poll wording varies and public support does not demonstrate necessity or effectiveness. , which helps ensure that each person gets only one vote UNSUPPORTED ASSERTION There is no evidence that voter ID laws address widespread multiple-voting or impersonation fraud. Michigan data shows such fraud is exceedingly rare. in our elections.
What You Can Do:
- DO NOT detach any pages. Return the entire petition, including the extra pages of the petition that contain the full petition language, along with the signature page.
- Complete all fields in the circulator block on the bottom-right of the petition, including your township or city.
- Use the pre-addressed envelope and return your petition ASAP, no later than January 9, 2026.
Your signature matters. Please join us in this effort to protect the integrity of our elections. Thank you for considering this important issue.
Sincerely,
Ruth Johnson
State Senator and Former Michigan Secretary of State
Contact
- Email: info@michcov.com
- Phone: (517) 294-7761