Two parties. Two visions. One November ballot.

Battle Creek voters will decide more than just who holds power in Lansing this November. They will decide which party gets to rewrite Michigan's election rules.

If Democrats win control of the governorship and both legislative chambers, they plan to pass the Michigan Voting Rights Act. If Republicans take the trifecta, they promise to require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

The two parties have been at odds over election policy for two years. Only two bipartisan election bills have ever made it out of committee in a second chamber during this legislative cycle. None have been signed into law, according to Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering election administration.

Democrats: Fill the gap left by the Supreme Court

Democratic senators reintroduced the Michigan Voting Rights Act earlier this month as Senate Bills 961 through 964. The four-bill package aims to replace protections stripped from the federal Voting Rights Act by recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

The bills passed out of the Senate Elections Committee last week in a 4-1 party-line vote, clearing the way for a full Senate vote, according to Votebeat reporting.

"Whether you're an independent or Republican or Democrat, these bills are good for you. They protect your vote and your voice no matter who you support," said Sen. Darrin Camilleri, a Democrat from Trenton, during a hearing on the bills last week.

Sen. Jeremy Moss, the Senate president pro tempore and a Democrat from Southfield, said Democrats have "achieved a lot" on elections since gaining their first trifecta in nearly 40 years during the 2023-24 session. But he called the MVRA the next necessary step.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the frontrunner for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, publicly called for passage of the MVRA last month after the Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais further weakened the federal Voting Rights Act.

The bills are expected to stall in the Republican-controlled House.

Republicans: Proof of citizenship and election security

Republican lawmakers are pushing a different agenda. Rep. Rachelle Smit, speaker pro tempore of the Michigan House and a Republican from Martin, held a press conference last week criticizing Senate Democrats for not taking up Republican election bills.

"The most important thing that we could be doing to preserve and protect our voting rights is pass Representative [Jason] Woolford's bill, which would be requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote," Smit said.

Rep. Bryan Posthumus, a Republican from Rockford, introduced a state constitutional amendment earlier this session to require proof of citizenship at voter registration. That measure did not pass the House.

A separate proof-of-citizenship ballot initiative may reach November voters anyway. Americans for Citizens Voting submitted more than 750,000 signatures to the Michigan Bureau of Elections earlier this year for a similar constitutional amendment, according to Votebeat.

What a Republican trifecta would change

Anthony Forlini, Macomb County clerk and a GOP candidate for secretary of state, outlined a broader election security agenda if Republicans win control of state government.

His priorities include:

  • Stronger monitoring systems for ballot drop boxes to verify who returns ballots
  • Improvements to state campaign finance laws
  • Greater transparency in how absentee ballots are handled

"It's not voter suppression. You're suppressing votes by allowing these things to happen," Forlini told Votebeat.

Michigan law already requires video monitoring at ballot drop boxes. Forlini pointed to videos captured in Hamtramck last summer showing individuals dropping off large numbers of ballots, potentially in violation of state rules that limit ballot returns to family or household members.

The November stakes

Michigan has not seen a trifecta under either party since the last election cycle. Democrats last held full control in 2024. Republicans last held it in 2018.

The November election will determine:

  • The governor's office
  • All 110 seats in the state House of Representatives
  • All 38 seats in the state Senate
  • The U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters

Whichever party wins the trifecta will control the legislative agenda for the next two years. For Battle Creek voters and Michiganders statewide, that means the election rules governing their next vote could change dramatically depending on who walks into Lansing in January.

Reporting by Votebeat's Hayley Harding. Additional context from Votebeat Michigan.