Due to COVID-19, there is likely to be a record number of mail-in votes in the upcoming presidential election. | Adobe Stock
Due to COVID-19, there is likely to be a record number of mail-in votes in the upcoming presidential election. | Adobe Stock
Under current state law, providing false information on an absentee ballot application is only a misdemeanor offense, punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a fine up to $500, but Michigan lawmakers are looking to increase the consequences of such an offense by making it a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine up to $1,000.
On a recent episode of WJR’s "The Frank Beckmann Show," temporary host Chris Renwick spoke with Rep. Ann Bollin (R-Brighton Township) about what the goals are of the similar bills currently making their way through both houses of the Michigan Legislature.
“What they aim to do is make it a penalty to knowingly fill out and submit -- or cause to be submitted -- an absentee voter application containing another person’s name and personal identification number, or forging their signature,” Bollin told Renwick.
Rep. Ann Bollin
| Michigan House Republicans
Bollin said the primary concern is ensuring the law does not increase the likelihood of fraud by treating such false statements as being insignificant.
“What we don’t want to do is create a greater opportunity for fraud or interference with our election process and system,” she told Renwick.
Voter confidence is already down in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and all the controversy over how the election will be conducted, Bollin told Renwick. With the large increase expected in absentee ballots in the coming election, the potential holes in the absentee ballot system, which may not have presented as great of a temptation for voter fraud in the past, could invite it to a greater degree this time around.
“And we want to make sure that those applications are filled out by the voters themselves,” Bollin told Renwick.
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