Change Your World Week Winter 2022 (Archived)

American democracy is in trouble. And only "we the people" have the power to fix it. A recent NPR/Ipsos poll found that 64 percent of Americans believe that U.S. democracy is “in crisis and at risk of failing” (Rose and Baker 2022). Without trust in the democratic process – of which elections are the centerpiece – we lose our peaceful means of resolving conflict and people resort to non-peaceful means. These pages are designed to investigate and raise awareness about the rules of elections in the United States – and in Michigan specifically – to identify ways in which they might be broken. Students chose one part of the registration/voting/election election process and evaluated it according to principles of fairness, integrity and equity. Then they drew conclusions about whether it needed to be fixed. If, in their investigation, they discovered that there was nothing broken, then they are raising awareness about the strength and durability of our elections, in hopes of solidifying public trust. If they found that the system needs repair, then they are advocating for a change in the rules among those who have the power to enact such changes: state legislators. By visiting these pages and signing petitions that you support, YOU can take action to restore trust in American democracy.

Absentee voting is a process that allows people to vote by mail. Voters who qualify can request an absentee ballot and receive their it in the mail. This means absentee voters can cast their vote prior to election day without being present at a poll. 

• Currently, Michigan has no-reason absentee voting. This means that any eligible voter can request an absentee ballot.
• No-reason absentee voting was introduced in 2018. It was a part of Proposal 3 on a ballot initiative.
• Voters must request an absentee ballot. This can be done online, in person, or via mail.
  • Click here to view the online absentee voting form.
• The voter must fill out and sign the application, then return it to a clerk's office.
• A clerk's office must approve the application. Then the voter will receive their ballot, a return envelope, and a secrecy envelope in the mail
• The voter must fill out their ballot, sign the return envelope, and fill out other information.
• The voter will have until 8 pm on election day to return their ballot. It will be safely stored until election day.
• Come election day, all absentee ballots will be processed and counted.

• In 2018 Michigan introduced no reason absentee voting
  • 25 other states have no-reason absentee voting.
  • Eight other states have all-mail elections, meaning all voters are automatically sent a mail ballot.
  • All other states require a valid excuse to vote absentee. Typically, a reason beyond 'fear of COVID-19' is required.
  • View this chart of States with no reason absentee voting.
• Michigan allows one day of early processing in cities with more than 25,000 residents. Cities with fewer can only process on election day.
  • Processing involves verifying the signature and other voter information that comes with a ballot.
  • Michigan is one of 10 states that only allow processing on election day.
  • 37 other states allow early processing.
• Michigan and 38 other states only allow counting on election day.
  • Counting involves tallying votes.
  • Counting is typically limited to election day to prevent early leaking of results.​

Source:

National Conference of State Legislatures, “Voting Outside the Polling Place: Absentee, All-Mail, and other Voting at Home Options,” ncsl.org, March 15, 2022. https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absentee-and-early-voting.aspx

• No-reason absentee voting makes voting more convenient and accessible.
• Allows those in the military, election day workers, elderly, disabled, and others to vote.
• Michigan has seen a large increase in voter turnout since the introduction of no-reason absentee voting.
  • Wayne county, Michigan's largest county, saw a 10% increase.
  • Other counties saw up to a 20% increase.
• Absentee ballots and enveloped have an array of security features. Some examples include:
  • Sealed Envelopes: Michigan ballots come with two envelopes that must be sealed. An open envelope will create suspicion of tampering.
  • Secure drop-off locations: Ballot drop-off locations are locked and under surveillance, which is required by law. Ballots are also stored in a secure, locked room.
  • Signatures: All ballots require a signature that matches the voter’s file. If a signature is missing or does not match, the clerk's office will attempt to contact the voter.

Sources:

National Conference of State Legislatures, “Voting Outside the Polling Place: Absentee, All-Mail, and other Voting at Home Options,” ncsl.org, March 15, 2022. https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absentee-and-early-voting.aspx

Julie Mack and Scott Levin, “See 2020 election turnout by Michigan county compared to 2016,” mlive,com, November 5, 2020. https://www.mlive.com/politics/2020/11/see-2020-election-turnout-by-michigan-county-compared-to-2016.html

• Mail votes are over 60 times more likely to be illegal or fraudulent than in person votes.
  • About one in 2.5 million in person votes may be illegal.
  • About one in 400,000 mail-in votes may be illegal.
• With ballots being transported through mail, there are more opportunities for tampering.
• State clerk offices may be overwhelmed by large numbers of absentee votes.
• Since all absentee ballots are counted on election day, the sudden spike in votes for candidates could lead to mistrust of election results.

Source:

Justin Levitt, Loyal Law School, US Elections Project, for in person voting (based on 2000-2102 election; Electronic Registration Information Center, for mail-in voting (based on 2016 and 2018 elections).

Do the rules for absentee voting in Michigan need to be changed to create fairness, integrity and access in elections? If so, how?

• Different members of our team came to separate conclusions.
• Those in favor of absentee voting drew this conclusion:
  • Michigan’s current absentee voting laws are adequate and promote an accessible and convenient way to vote.
  • One of the few issues is that Michigan clerks don’t have much time for processing absentee ballots.
  • These members have created a petition to push lawmakers to give clerks more time to process. See the Take Action section below.
• Those against absentee voting drew this conclusion:
  • Michigan’s current absentee voting laws create mistrust and give too many opportunities for tampering and fraud.
  • Michigan should require a valid excuse for voters to get an absentee ballot.

• The members of our team who support absentee voting have created a petition to give Michigan election clerks more time to process absentee voting.
• Sign this petition to show your support for this change to Delta College's local lawmakers.
• Read and Sign Our Petition!

If you would like to voice more than just a yes or no, go check out our discussion page.