LANSING – The Center for American
Progress Action Fund ranked Michigan 28th of the 50 states and Washington,
D.C., for voter access to polls and for their effective representation in its Health of State Democracies Report.
Michigan was among 15 states getting
failing grades (and ranked 48th) for accessibility for not having
pre-registration for teens or online registration and for not having no-reason
absentee voting or early voting.
But the state also got nicked for
being part of the Interstate Crosscheck System. The group marked down all 27
members of the compact, which allows members to check voter registrations
against each other’s lists and flag those who might be registered in multiple
states. CAP said the system could lead to removing legitimate voters to avoid
an offense that the group said had not been committed in any of the member
states.
Michigan ranked in the top tier of
states for implementing the federal motor voter law.
For representation, the state
received a C, ranking 16th. The worst measure was representation of minority
communities, with members of the Legislature representing only 46 percent of
the proportion of minorities in the overall population. Women members
represented 55 percent of the gender’s proportion in the population.
The state also lost some points for
legislative districts that leaned more Republican than the overall population.
But it earned points for limited suspension
of voting rights for felons and for broad ballot access for initiatives,
referenda and constitutional amendments.
The state received a C+ for
influence in the political system, gaining points for campaign contribution
limits, public campaign funding and some limits on elected officials leaving
office to become lobbyists. It lost points on campaign finance disclosure and
openness in the Legislature.
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