- Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum warns that the new executive order could cause voting delays or make some votes not eligible to be counted.
- President Trump says federal election funding will be affected if states don't comply with the new order.
- Michigan received over $20 million in federal election funding in 2020, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
- The GOP-led state House introduced a constitutional amendment requiring proof of citizenship in state elections, which will be voted on in the coming weeks.
"This will impact every voter in some way," Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum said.
Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum, a Democrat, tells me the new executive order could cause problems for married women who have not changed their name on their birth certificate or cause lines to be longer when voting. Or your vote may not count at all.
"Under this executive order, a valid absentee ballot that was received by the local clerk before polls close on election day may still not be counted if it has not been completely processed and tabulated by the time election day ends," Byrum said.
President Trump says federal election funding will be impacted if states don't comply.
According to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, Michigan received over $20 million in federal election funding in 2020.
"Elections are rarely adequately funded, and in Michigan, many of those election offices have seen increased responsibilities and duties with no additional funding," Byrum said.
But others say this could be a good thing for our elections.
"We need to clean up our elections. You know, it's great—we shouldn't have ballots coming in days after the election like Jocelyn Benson wants," Speaker of the House Matt Hall said.
The GOP-led state House introduced a constitutional amendment in January requiring proof of citizenship in state elections and plans to continue voting on it in the next few weeks.
"The election should be decided on election day. You should have citizenship to vote, and that's what President Trump is doing, and I thank him for it," Hall said.
I reached out to the Secretary of State and Attorney General's office for comment. The press secretary for the Attorney General says they are currently reviewing the executive order and will comment at a later date, and I did not receive a response from the Secretary of State's office before the story aired.
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