With the goal of ultimately passing state legislation that will give residents the right to vote up to nine days early, supporters of the initiative Monday launched a petition drive.
According to officials behind the drive the petition is an enhancement of the original Promote the Vote proposal that state legislators passed in 2018 which authorized straight-ticket voting, automatic voter registration, same-day voter registration, and no-excuse absentee voting.
This time around, the same group is looking to make election voting changes once again—and proposing a full nine days of early voting.
The group says once it has the sufficient number of voter signatures required, the initiative will then appear on the November ballot this fall.
Michael Davis is the executive director and spoke Monday during the petition launch.
“Promote the Vote is committed to cutting through the partisan noise to preserve, protect, and enhance voting rights for the people of Michigan, because our democracy works best when every eligible voter can vote without the threat of harassment, intimidation, or interference,” he said.
The petition also advocates for pre-paid postage for mail-in ballots, while providing funding for ballot tracking and drop boxes. The petition also includes an extra six days for military ballots to be returned and counted.
The group says it has no plans to try and change Michigan’s voter ID laws.
