LANSING, Mich. — State leaders have reached a deal to allow the preprocessing of absentee ballots starting two days before the Nov. 8 election in large communities, according to the chairwoman of the House Elections and Ethics Committee.
The deal between the GOP-led House and Senate and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer would also involve the passage of laws tightening security around ballot drop boxes and changing the way dead voters are removed from voting rolls ahead of the Nov. 8 election, said state Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton.
Other provisions to be implemented after the November election would allow overseas military members to submit their absentee ballots electronically and expand the types of locations that could be used as polling locations.
The changes would be permanent, unlike the temporary pre-processing allowance implemented just for the November 2020 election. The preprocessing element would apply to August and November elections, Bollin said.
"I think that we have gotten a lot of good, solid election integrity measures in there, things that are going to protect the vote," Bollin said. "I'm happy to say all sides were able to come together. These should not be partisan issues. These are practical solutions to ensure that we have solid elections that are run with a great level of integrity and voters have confidence that their vote's going to count."
Whitmer's office said the governor has worked with individuals on both sides of the aisle "to get things done and put Michiganders first" and is confident the state can continue that bipartisanship "on legislation to improve our state's elections too."
"When it comes to election reforms our goal is always to uphold Michiganders' constitutional right to have their voices heard in a safe and secure election," Whitmer spokesman Bobby Leddy said.
The House and Senate are likely to vote on the measures Wednesday, likely the last voting day the Legislature will have before the Nov. 8 election, Bollin said.
Bollin said the details of each bill are still being "ironed out" but the structure of the agreement is in place.
The preprocessing provision would allow clerks in municipalities with populations of at least 10,000 to start working with absentee ballots two days ahead of the election. Clerks largely would be allowed to open the outer envelope — the ballot is contained in a secrecy sleeve within the outer envelope — and to check the ballot number on the return envelope in order to save time in processing votes on Election Day.
Bollin said she's confident clerks will have the funding needed to implement the measures, noting they received increases in revenue sharing last year and grants in 2020. She said she's open to discussions about long-term fixes to funding.
The drop box requirement would mandate drop boxes are in a public, open spaces, have locks and seals, have limited openings that only allow a ballot through and have secure transportation containers, Bollin said.
Bollin said the compromise legislation also would require local clerks to visit the drop boxes regularly close to the election, record how many ballots are coming out of them, which drop box they came from and who transported them.
The provisions related to military ballots would allow active, overseas military members to electronically submit their absentee ballots, Bollin said. The allowance would be limited to military members and not their family members.
The dead voters provision would allow county clerks to remove known dead voters from voting roles, as well as require prompt notifications to a local clerk if a voter dies in the days ahead of the election.
A bill last year that Wednesday's legislation is expected to mirror allowed senior housing facilities, apartment buildings, banquet facilities or a recreation clubhouse to be used as polling locations so long as the owner isn't a sponsor to a political or independent committee.
Whitmer vetoed the bills related to dead voters and polling locations when they were passed previously by the House and Senate, citing concerns about increasing burdens on clerk and suppression of votes.
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