Thomas More Society Special Counsel Thor Hearne, who served as legal counsel and advisor to the bipartisan Carter-Baker Commission, chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and Secretary of State James A. Baker III, says Michigan’s Ballot Proposal 2, the Voting Policies in Constitution Amendment, would compromise election security.
LANSING, Mich., Nov. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Approval of a far-reaching amendment to Michigan’s constitution governing voter policies is a recipe for vote fraud, observed a nationally known constitutional and voting rights attorney who has argued voting rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Michigan Supreme Court. Thor Hearne, who served as legal counsel and advisor to the bipartisan Carter-Baker Commission, chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and Secretary of State James A. Baker III, says Proposal 2, the Voting Policies in Constitution Amendment, would compromise election security and lead to ballot harvesting and election funding by out-of-state special interest groups.
Misrepresented as a means to expand voting rights in Michigan, Proposal 2 includes measures that would undermine the integrity of Michigan elections disenfranchise ballots cast by lawful Michigan voters. Specifically, Proposal 2 would allow individuals without identification to cast ballots, out-of-state special interests and billionaires to fund and direct how Michigan elections are conducted, facilitate ballot harvesting by requiring tens of thousands of unattended ballot drop boxes to be placed in predominately urban jurisdictions and deny candidates, political parties and voters the opportunity to audit or challenge election results.
“Proposal 2 is contrary to the United States Supreme Court’s decisions, the federal Help America Vote Act, the recommendations of the bi-partisan Carter-Baker Commission and Michigan’s Election Code,” Hearne said. “Proposal 2 would overturn Michigan’s existing voter identification requirements, which are much less strict than those upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, and allow someone without identification to cast a ballot. We require photo identification to board a plane, cash a check or buy a beer. Shouldn’t we require a similar degree of security for our elections?”
Hearne noted that the Carter-Baker Commission recommended states adopt measures to restore public confidence in the integrity and outcome of elections. The commission determined that absentee ballots and mail-in ballots, including ballots deposited in drop boxes, were the most significant source of vote fraud. “The Carter-Baker Commission also found that ballot harvesting and vote buying schemes are much more difficult to detect when citizens vote by mail,” Hearne noted. “The commission recommended that states should reduce the risks of fraud and abuse in absentee voting by prohibiting third-party organizations, candidates and political party activists from handling absentee ballots.”
Proposal 2 would also allow billionaires and special interests to pay Michigan election officials and direct how election officials conduct Michigan elections. In the 2020 General election Facebook billionaire, Mark Zuckerberg, paid more than $400 million to election officials in exchange for the election officials agreeing to conduct the election in a manner that the Zuckerberg-funded “charity” directed. This included more than $15 million paid to Michigan election officials including $7.4 million paid to Detroit. The money was paid to predominantly Democrat jurisdictions to facilitate mail-in voting and ballot harvesting.
Every illegally cast ballot disenfranchises a citizen who cast a lawful vote. This is not a Republican or a Democrat issue. “Every eligible citizen’s access to the ballot must be protected, and Michigan elections must be conducted in a manner that guarantees every lawful vote is counted,” Hearne said. “The ‘winner’ of a corrupt election has no moral authority to govern. The electorate must be confident that the election was conducted according to established rules and not rigged or manipulated. Proposal 2 does nothing to ensure that confidence.”
About the Thomas More Society
The Thomas More Society is a national not-for-profit law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, religious liberty, and election integrity. Headquartered in Chicago and with offices across the country, Thomas More Society fosters support for these causes by providing high quality pro bono legal services from local trial courts all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. For more information, please visit thomasmoresociety.org.
The Thomas More Society officially launched its own Election Integrity Initiative in 2022 to preserve and protect Americans’ sacred right to vote against those who would use money or other illegal means such as conditional “gift” or “grant” agreements to distort, evade or compromise electoral laws and safeguards.
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SOURCE Thomas More Society
