Plans state Rep. Matt Hall is spearheading and supporting that work to provide clarity within state elections continue to move through the legislative process. 

The Senate Elections Committee on Wednesday voted to approve Hall’s House Bill 4127, which establishes a procedure to remove individuals listed on the qualified voter file with unknown dates of birth. The legislation also requires verification of a person’s birth date to update records.

Hall outlined a recent non-partisan, independent finding from the state Auditor General which showed 2,775 total votes cast by electors who died prior to election day for eight elections spanning from May 7, 2019 to the most recent general election in November 2020. Over 99 percent of that total voted absentee and 41 of these voters died 41 days or more before an election.

“Every month, the state is required by law to check the death rolls to make sure people are being removed and the audit showed that clearly was not being done,” said Hall, of Marshall. “This is something I have said needs to be addressed even before this particular audit took place.”

Hall previously led a House Oversight Committee hearing during the 2019-20 legislative term where the state Auditor General disclosed in testimony that many people on Michigan’s voter rolls are over 120 years old according to their birth dates listed – older than the oldest-living person in the world. In addition, it was estimated that 300,000 people on the rolls were inactive voters who haven’t voted in over 20 years.

“We’ve seen an election where millions of unsolicited absentee ballot applications are going out to addresses all over the state. With that in mind, why would we not take the necessary steps to make sure our voter list is up to date? I find that outlandish and unacceptable,” Hall said. “We can’t further jeopardize integrity in how our state conducts elections by continuing to neglect information that clearly is inaccurate – and I am working to shore this up.”

HB 4127 now advances to the full Senate for consideration. Hall also voted to advance legislation from the House today that prohibits digital and electronic signatures to request absent voter ballot applications, shifts the absent voter application process from unsolicited mass mailings to a more concise by-request method, and other needed reforms that will create less confusion and more clarity for the voting public.

“People want an elections process they can understand and trust,” Hall said. “Without that, a fundamental pillar of our democracy is harshly impacted. I will continue my commitment to listening to the concerns many people have and developing solutions that deliver a better system.”