Legislator says signature requirements must remain robust

State Rep. Matt Hall, of Marshall, today voted to request Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson make needed changes to proposed election rules – leading efforts to shore up the integrity of Michigan’s elections in the future and prevent fraud.

A member of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules – a body responsible for legislative oversight of administrative rules proposed or adopted by state agencies – Hall called for signature requirement standards that operate within the framework of current laws and other needed updates.

“These proposed rules from Secretary Benson water down signature requirements within our election laws, which will cause more people to lose faith in how Michigan’s elections are being conducted,” Hall said. “It’s important to restore confidence and integrity in our elections. If we’re making it easier to commit fraud by simply presuming signatures are valid, it inevitably increases the potential for problems. I am pushing to keep that from happening.”

“Secretary Benson overstepped her authority by crafting signature verification standards that required all signatures on absentee voter ballots to be presumed valid. There is nothing within state law that allowed that type of power from her position, and this directive was found through court to be not in accordance with our laws and not valid. These recommendations work to make sure these missteps are not repeated, and establish parameters that work under the laws we have so that people can have faith in Michigan’s elections process and the results that process produces.”

Hall has spearheaded election integrity reforms in response to many people throughout the state who have called on their elected leaders to deliver a more efficient and transparent elections process. Concepts that Hall has helped develop during the 2021-22 legislative term include allowing county clerks to better oversee elections by giving them the power to remove deceased voters from the Qualified Voter File, improved training standards for election workers, enhanced election security by ensuring poll books and tabulators are not connected to the internet, protections for state elections from unapproved third party access and increased voting access through the establishment of new polling places.

As part of the administrative process, the committee’s recommendations will now be sent to the Secretary of State for review.