In response to the House Election Integrity Committee’s hearing on HJR-B, a version of the national SAVE Act which would make it more difficult to vote, the following is a statement from Suzanne Almeida, Common Cause Vice President of State Operations.

HJR-B would cause several problems for current eligible voters, including:  

• Additional hoops: Voters would have to prove their U.S. citizenship again. Even if voters have been registered for decades, the bill requires specific documents like a passport or birth certificate, without exceptions, 

• Long lines: election officials would be buried in red tape, causing delays and confusion at polling places, and 

• Unknown voter purges: if the state can’t verify citizenship, voters could be purged from the rolls without warning. 

“No matter the name, HJR-B is voter suppression hiding under the mask of election integrity. Members of Common Cause in Michigan have shared dozens of stories of how HJR-B will personally make it harder for them to vote. And, in some cases, it would ensure that eligible Michigan voters are unable to cast a ballot. This clear voter suppression bill must be defeated,” said Suzanne Almeida, Common Cause Vice President of State Operations.