Snyder rejects GOP voting laws

Lansing? Gov. Rick Snyder set off political fireworks Tuesday by vetoing Republican bills that would have required a photo ID for absentee voting, restricted voter registration drives and mandated a ballot box affirmation of citizenship.

Citing concern the three bills might confuse voters, Snyder's veto hat trick represented the first major rejection of legislation from his fellow Republicans, who control the Legislature, during his 18-month tenure as Michigan's chief executive.

The Republican governor rejected a requirement in House Bill 5061 allowing an absentee ballot to be tossed if the voter fails to affirm his or her U.S. citizenship on Election Day.

"I am concerned (the bill) could create voter confusion among absentee voters," Snyder wrote in a veto letter to legislators.

Snyder also took issue with the Legislature's attempt in Senate Bill 803 to make voters affirm their U.S. citizenship when obtaining an absentee ballot by checking a box ? leaving the sponsor of the vetoed bill miffed.

"What the heck could be confusing about that?" said Sen. Darwin Booher, R-Evert, about the U.S. citizenship question. "If it confuses you if you're a citizen or not, maybe you should check that out."

Snyder also vetoed Senate Bill 754, which would have required third-party groups like the League of Women Voters who have been registering people to vote for decades to get mandatory training by the Secretary of State's office or county election clerks. He said the bill "may cause confusion with regard to voter registration efforts."

Susan Smith, president of the League of Women Voters of Michigan, said the bill would have disproportionately affected seniors, young people and minorities who are more likely to register to vote through drives put on by volunteer organizations.

"Fortunately, the governor saw that this was a bill that was not only unnecessary, but put up barriers, obstacles for certain parts of the population," Smith said.

The Republican governor's rare use of his veto pen ? the fourth, fifth and sixth bills he's vetoed since taking office ? won praise from Democrats, labor unions, the NAACP and other liberal special interest groups.

"I'm optimistically happy to see that the governor recognized this was partisan legislation and that was only designed to suppress the vote," said state Rep. David Nathan, D-Detroit. "We know there's no voter fraud, so it was far overreaching."

Both chambers of the Legislature would need a two-thirds majority to override Snyder's vetoes ? an unlikely task in the House, where Republicans hold a 64-46 majority and would be unlikely to entice Democrats to vote for the bills, Nathan said.

Booher said he would discuss a veto override in the Senate where Republicans hold a 26-12 super majority, which would need to occur by the end of the year. GOP leaders, however, were not discussing an override on the eve of today's Fourth of July federal holiday. The Legislature meets in session 23 days between now and late December.

Capitol observers have been watching for signs of relationship strain between the political neophyte governor and the more conservative Republicans who run the Legislature.

"It may be the end of peace and harmony in the animal kingdom," said Bill Ballenger, publisher of Inside Michigan Politics, a Lansing newsletter.

Rep. Brad Jacobsen, R-Oxford, sponsor of the voter ID legislation, said he would work with Snyder to address his concerns, leaving open the possibility of a revised bill.

"Like the governor, I don't want to create any confusion in the upcoming election," he said.

The Rev. Charles Williams II, who led a raucous protest against the bills during a Council of Baptist Pastors meeting in Detroit last week, predicted more civility would come from Snyder's vetoes.

"I think it's a step toward removing the divisive nature of partisan politics in the state of Michigan," said Williams, pastor of King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit and president of National Action Network.

In that vein, during the Jonathan Kinloch Show on WDTK-1400 AM on Tuesday, Williams said a planned march this month from Detroit to Lansing protesting the bills was canceled upon the veto.

The legislation requiring an affirmation of citizenship was spawned, in part, by Secretary of State Ruth Johnson's office discovering a handful of non-U.S. citizens on the voter rolls who were improperly registered to vote while legally obtaining driver's licenses.

In the February presidential primary, Johnson implemented a policy requiring voters to affirm their citizenship at the polls on a ballot application alongside their name and date of birth.

The vetoed legislation sought to codify Johnson's policy, which she claims successfully identified a dozen non-citizens who tried to vote in Kent, Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties during the presidential primary.

Snyder believes a person's signature on a ballot application would be a better alternative to the check box, spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said.

Johnson, a Republican and former Oakland County clerk, said Tuesday she will keep the policy in place despite the governor's veto. As the state's chief elections officer, Johnson retains the right to set wording on ballot forms, spokesman Fred Woodhams said.

Snyder's veto of the voter ID bill drew disappointment from Republican House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall. Spokesman Ari Adler cited "antics by unscrupulous groups such as ACORN" as a reason why state government needs to regulate voter registration.

Adler denied the bill was sought to punish supporters of ACORN, a now-defunct national organization aligned with Democrats that was put out of business by incidents of bogus voter registrations across the country.

"It wasn't just about ACORN, but it's certainly an example of why we need some reforms," Adler said. "This idea that we're trying to suppress votes is absolutely wrong."

Zack Pohl, executive director of Progress Michigan, a group aligned with Democrats, praised the governor while also taking a political jab at Snyder's "one tough nerd" slogan.

"Gov. Snyder deserves credit for finally doing something truly tough as governor, by standing up to the extreme forces in his own party who are committed to suppressing the vote this November," Pohl said in a statement. "It's refreshing to see a Republican governor do the right thing by opposing this unfair and undemocratic legislation."

clivengood@detnews.com

(517) 371-3660

Source: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120704/POLITICS01/207040348/1374/rss44

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