Bills may alter Mich. voting locations

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Tweet Students might have an easier time voting if state representative has her way.

Rep. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor, is the primary sponsor of House Bills 4447 and 4448, which would annul Public Act 118 - also known as Rogers' Law - that changed voting law to require Michigan residents to register in the same district as the address on their driver's licenses.

Under the current law, students registering to vote must cast ballots at home, by an absentee form or change their address.

The proposed bill would allow residents to vote in any precinct in Michigan without having to change their address.

This is helpful for students who need to retain their home address for financial purposes, Warren said.

"A student might spend eight or nine months out of the year in their college community," she said. "But for the purposes of health insurance, auto insurance and for your dependent status for taxes or financial aid, the address on their licenses would have to be their (home address)."

In addition to allowing students to retain their home addresses, Warren said the bill could help more people vote.

"For a representative democracy to be effective, we need as many citizens as possible voting," Warren said. "We had two weeks in front of the ethics committee. The testimony was the folks doing the registration on campus said they've seen registration numbers drop significantly since the law."

Rogers' Law was sponsored in 1999 by former state and current U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, during an election. There are those, Warren said, who feel the bill was the outcome of trying to keep students from voting on campuses.

"East Lansing tends to be a more democratic town," Warren said. "Some feel it made it easier for (the Republicans) to suppress the student vote on campus."

Warren added that her motives were not partisan in nature.

"For me, it's not about party, it's about getting students to vote for whichever candidate they feel is best," Warren said.

The bill, however, is not the only solution to easing students' ability to vote, said Secretary of State spokeswoman Kelly Chesney.

"(Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land) thinks that a better solution would be preregistering teenagers at the age of 16 when they get their licenses," Chesney said.

"That way when they turn 18, they'll be eligible to vote whether or not they're at home or at a college campus."

Land does not support the bill, Chesney said. Land said her plan is a better solution, and the bill would adversely affect the voting system in place, Chesney said. Preregistering people is the best solution, she added.

"That would eliminate voter registration drives," Chesney said. "Then we can focus on voter participation drives."

Scott Hendrickson, president of MSU Democrats, supported the bill and said if it were passed, it would be an advantage to students.

"Our main focus is to get students active in politics," Hendrickson said. "We want to see student participation increase.

"The passage of this bill would be a very big win for us."

The bill would simplify the process of voting for students, Hendrickson said.

"It would cut down on the hassle that students don't want to go through in their college life," he said.

The current voting laws are a hassle for students, said Kate Leitch, a zoology senior.

"I know some people who care about political things, but the hurdle of dealing with the Secretary of State is a big thing that prevents them from voting," she said. "This would be a significant help."

The registration requirement isn't the only thing that prevents students from voting, said Drew Robert Winter, a journalism and English senior.

"Political apathy is actually the biggest issue here," he said. "But at the same time, students with a little bit less motivation or a busy schedule would probably be very accommodated by it, so it could do a lot of good."

Warren's bill would help get students involved in the political process, said Hemant Patel, a psychology senior.

"A lot more students would vote," Patel said. "You wouldn't have to go through the hassle of changing your address. It would be more convenient."

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