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Michigan House Republicans
Rep. BeGole votes against plan to count late absentee ballots without postmarks
RELEASE|April 27, 2023
Contact: Brian BeGole

State Rep. Brian BeGole this week voted against a measure that disregards a vital election security measure that Michigan voters were led to believe would be adopted as part of the reforms in Proposal 2 of 2022.

Last November, Michigan voters adopted Proposal 2 and added language to the state Constitution that guarantees military and other overseas voters the right to have their vote counted if their ballot is postmarked on or before election day and received by the appropriate election official within six days of the election.

A partisan measure advancing through the Legislature would require Michigan election workers to count absentee ballots received within six days of an election, even if they have no postmark at all.

“The voters of Michigan have spoken, and we have an obligation to implement Proposal 2 as they adopted it,” said BeGole, of Antrim Township. “Instead, Lansing Democrats have taken it upon themselves to go their own way and push through an extreme proposal that jeopardizes the integrity of our elections.”

BeGole said postmarks were such an important factor in Proposal 2 that the ballot measure spelled out a clear definition, saying: “a postmark shall include any type of mark applied by the United States Postal Service or any delivery service to the return envelope, including but not limited to a bar code or any tracking marks, which indicates when a ballot was mailed.”

“People who supported Proposal 2 were led to believe that postmarks would be required to ensure that no ballots could be filled out after polls close and results start to get reported,” BeGole said. “Disregarding that safeguard after earning the support of voters is disingenuous, at best.”

Despite BeGole’s opposition, Senate Bill 259 was approved along a party-line vote in the House. The measure now advances to the governor for consideration as a state law.

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