WDET News

Oct 13, 2008

General

A U-S District Court Judge has ruled that the Michigan Secretary of State…is illegally purging names from voter rolls. WDET’s Sarah Cwiek reports…SOQ

The ruling involved two voter removal methods. The Secretary of State currently removes voters from registration lists…if an I-D card sent to a registered address comes back as undeliverable. The state also cancels registration if a voter applies for a driver’s license in another state. Judge Stephen Murphy ruled that both practices violate the National Voting Rights Act. The ruling came as a victory for the American Civil Liberties Union and the United States Students Association…which had filed suit against the state. But Secretary of State spokesperson Kelly Chesney says the methods have been in place for decades…and are legitimate ways of preventing voter fraud:

“If these individuals prevail…it’s conceivable that people could make up fake names and addresses and force local elections officials to put them on the voter rolls…and keep them there for two Federal elections. There’d be no way we could keep Mickey Mouse on Orlando Street from appearing on voter rolls throughout the state.”

 Chesney says the Secretary of State hasn’t decided whether to appeal the ruling. Murphy ordered the state to stop removing voters on the basis of I-D card return…and to save records of registrations cancelled for out-of-state licenses until December 2009. This is Sarah Cwiek…WDET news.