LANSING – The House unexpectedly, but unanimously, approved an election reform bill Wednesday that would address some of the issues that arose following the revelation that House Speaker Jase Bolger and Rep. Roy Schmidt (R-Grand Rapids) plotted to have Schmidt switch parties at the last second and find a straw candidate to run against him.
The move came the day after Gongwer News Service first reported on newly obtained documents through the Freedom of Information Act that included the full State Police report and new text messages between Bolger, Schmidt and others involved in the scheme.
“The whole elections process in Michigan has come under scrutiny lately and many people, me included, have suggested that we need higher standards,” Mr. Bolger (R-Marshall) said in a statement. “Elections need to focus on voters, not opposition between parties. I’d like to express my thanks and commend Democrat Leader Rick Hammel for working in a bipartisan fashion to demonstrate that we should focus on delivering results for important election reform instead of partisan politics.”
It passed 106-0.
“This does not address many of the fundamental flaws in our election law related to the recent attempt to rig an election,” House Minority Leader Richard Hammel (D-Mount Morris Township) said in a statement. “I appreciate the willingness to address these reforms together.”
The vehicle used to approve the legislation came in the form of HB 4907 , which the House requested the Senate return to it as soon as session began Wednesday afternoon.
That bill originally passed in November on a vote of 105-1. It previously amended state election law to change the deadlines for local, school district, or county ballot questions.
Amendments and a floor substitute from Rep. Sharon Tyler (R-Niles), sponsor of the original bill, would make incumbents file for office two weeks earlier than nonincumbent candidates in races where candidates file via affidavit instead of petition signatures (that includes candidates for the Legislature). It also allows an extension of two business days for a non-incumbent to file if a candidate withdraws and the ballot is left blank for that office.
“Michigan voters deserve to have stronger and more secure elections,” Tyler said in a statement. “This bill takes several steps to strengthen this process and protect democracy.”
Tyler said the bill also extends the period of time ballots of military personnel serving overseas can be accepted if clerks miss the 45-day deadline for mailing ballots, which happened recently.
“The men and women of our armed forces, who put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms, deserve to have their voices heard on Election Day,” Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said in a statement. “I thank lawmakers for acting quickly on my proposal to ensure that the counting deadline for military and overseas ballots will be extended if more time is needed.”
Rep. Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga) said the legislation was a step in the right direction, but thought it would do more.
“I would have expected more of a leap in the right direction,” Byrum said.
What the bill does not address is making it illegal to offer to pay someone to run for office, which was the case with Schmidt and Matthew Mojzak, the straw candidate that was recruited to run against him.
Mojzak was offered $450 to run as a Democrat, and then, according to police records, Schmidt upped the offer to $1,000 after Mojzak considered dropping out under intense media scrutiny. The idea was to have Mojzak serve as a blocker to a legitimate Democratic candidate running as a write-in after Schmidt left Democrats without a real candidate.
Bolger spokesperson Ari Adler said such language was not ready for inclusion on Wednesday, but Rep. Earl Poleski (R-Jackson) did drop a bill earlier that day that would prohibit the promise of valuable consideration of a candidate to run.
Adler said Bolger “is open to seeing that bill move.”
Poleski’s bill, which will be HB 5855 when it is formally introduced on the next session day, would make what Schmidt attempted to do a crime punishable by imprisonment for up to one year and/or a fine of $500.
“I wanted to get something in to indicate this is something that is not acceptable,” he said.
Poleski said he wouldn’t mind seeing the bill expanded to also prohibit paying someone to refrain from running for office.
He said he was surprised like many others when the word came out that it was actually not a crime to offer someone money to run as a straw candidate.
“There are things that you learn, and that’s when laws get passed,” he said.
Democrats tried to add nine amendments to the bill that included some of their election reform ideas, including making it easier for military personnel serving overseas to vote, but just two were approved.
One was from Rep. Charles Smiley (D-Burton), which was co-sponsored by Rep. Thomas Hooker (R-Byron Center). It largely included the language of Hooker’s bill (HB 5840 ) he had introduced that morning that now is unlikely to be needed, Adler said.
“This is a good first step and I’m glad it’s a bipartisan effort, but it does not go far enough to protect voters,” Smiley said. “I hope Republicans will discuss meaningful reforms in the coming months.”
The other Democratic amendment that won support came from Rep. Dian Slavens (D-Canton). It requires the Department of State to order clerks to extend the deadline for military and overseas ballots.
Democrats failed to add other reforms related to military personnel voting overseas, that would allow clerks to accept absentee ballots that were postmarked by the Election Day, and not received on Election Day.
A failed amendment from Minority Floor Leader Kate Segal (D-Battle Creek) would have allowed for the electronic return of ballots from military personnel overseas. She said since they are sent to soldiers electronically, it didn’t make sense that they be forced to find a printer, fill it out, and mail it back, when they could just email it.
Another amendment that Republicans did not allow addressed an issue that arose from the scheme with Schmidt and Bolger. Offered by Byrum, it would force candidates to file their own affidavit in person.
Minutes before the 4 p.m. May 15 filing deadline, Phil Browne, Bolger’s deputy chief of staff filed both Schmidt’s Republican paperwork and Mojzak’s paperwork making him a Democratic candidate.
The bill also eliminates the need for a special election to fill a congressional vacancy if another election is already scheduled in the near term and the governor chooses to fill the seat at the next general election.
In such a case, if the governor directs the vacancy to be filled at the next general election, the county executive committee of each political party would select their candidate to be the nominee, avoiding the need for a primary.
If such a law had been in place this year, it would have eliminated the need for the special primary election in the 11th U.S. House District to fill the remaining few weeks of former Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, who resigned amidst a petition fraud scandal by his staff that forced him off the ballot.
The special election, set for September 5, is estimated to cost local communities in the district a total of $650,000.
This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com
