House Passes Straight Ticket Elimination and No-Reason Absentee

The House approved bills to eliminate straight ticket voting and to establish no-reason absentee voting. Both pieces of legislation received strong opposition by Democrats in a long session Wednesday.

SB 13 eliminates straight ticket voting by removing from the ballot a single box that can be checked to vote for all the candidates from one party. HB 4724 allows voters to bring identification to their local clerk’s office to receive an absentee ballot. SB 13 narrowly passed with a vote of 54-51 with Republican Representatives John Bizon (Battle Creek), Ben Glardon (Owosso), Martin Howrylak (Troy), Dave Pagel (Berrien Springs), and Phil Potvin (Cadillac) also voting no. HB 4724 passed with a vote of 59-46, with Democratic Representatives Jeff Irwin (Ann Arbor) and Derek Miller (Warren) voting yes, and Republican Representatives Thomas Hooker (Byron Center) and Phil Potvin again voting no.

SB 13 includes a $5 million appropriation making it referendum proof, a point of controversy for the chamber. Democrats in total attempted to amend this bill 19 times with all attempts failing. Representative Pam Faris (D-Clio) attempted to strip the appropriations and asked for a roll call vote. Her request was denied. Minority Floor Leader Sam Singh (D-East Lansing) called a point of order asking for a roll call vote. His motion was ruled not proper and his request was denied.

HB 4724 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Government Operations and SB 13 has returned to the Senate in order to vote in substitute H-2 that was passed in the House.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, December 11, 2015 10:12 AM
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