So, we have another big weekend here in the Great Lake State for the future of the state and of the Michigan Grand Old Party, as Republicans gather in Detroit to pick the new leader of the party.
On Saturday, Michigan Republicans will replace outgoing chairperson Pete Hoekstra, who was picked by Donald Trump to become the Ambassador to Canada. While I will cover the mess that that fight will bring at a later date, today, I want to focus on a movement that anyone who actually believes in the concept of one person/one vote–if you are an actual American citizen–YOU should support.
I read about it right HERE and thought this needed to be highlighted here at RedState:
State Rep. Bryan Posthumus plans to gather support for a ballot committee at this weekend’s Michigan Republican Party convention in Detroit for a constitutional amendment requiring proof of citizenship to register and photo ID to vote.
Posthumus, R-Rockford, introduced a joint resolution last month in the Michigan House that would require voters to show proof of U.S. citizenship to register and provide photo identification to cast a ballot. But it’s unclear whether the measure will get the two-thirds majority support needed in the Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate to place the issue on the November 2026 ballot.
So Posthumus is using a ballot committee, Committee to Protect Voters’ Rights, to develop ballot language and secure signatures from Michigan residents to qualify for the November 2026 ballot. The third-term lawmaker launched the campaign at a gathering with Republicans Friday and is expected to lead a convention floor vote Saturday on a resolution in support of the effort.
That he is unclear that he could get two-thirds to agree to this in the Michigan House is a sad state of affairs. Of course, being the Democrats control the Senate in the state, there’s no chance of any cooperation from them, so his plan on getting this put onto the ballot for 2026 is exactly the way to go.
It is a common sense move, as detailed below:
Under the proposed amendment contained in the House joint resolution introduced Jan. 29, an individual seeking to register to vote must provide proof of citizenship or the secretary of state must verify citizenship. The amendment allows an individual to vote a provisional ballot that is not counted until U.S. citizenship is verified. The verification must occur within six days of Election Day.
The amendment also requires the secretary of state to use an “ongoing systemic process” to verify voters already appearing in the state’s qualified voter file are actually U.S. citizens.
No shocker that the current secretary of State, who is also running for governor as a Democrat in 2026, is not a fan of amending the Michigan Constitution for this:
Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has expressed opposition to the constitutional amendment, warning similar plans in other states had not passed constitutional muster or had created “a separate and unequal system of voting access for citizens” that blocked eligible voters from the ballot box.
Ensuring that people voting in our elections are legally eligible to do so, is something every elected official should be pulling for–no questions asked. That you have people not willing to stand up and push for that should raise a red flag for anybody considering a vote for them.
Now, I happen to be the person who says Michigan is much more of a blue state; then, on the rare occasion, it turns red because Donald Trump is at the top of the ballot. (read Democrat Jocelyn Benson Announces Run for Michigan Governor, and She Is the Favorite to Win So Far)
Here is your quick refresher:
Donald Trump won the state in 2016 by just over 11,000 votes, 47.6 percent to 47.4 percent, and in 2024 by 80 thousand, or 49.7 percent to 48.3, which of course were historic wins. This is not because they were blowout victories by any stretch of the imagination but because Michigan is a very blue state and has been for two decades going on three.
The Michigan GOP and its stalwarts have been screaming from the mountaintops to anyone who will listen that the force known as Donald Trump somehow is single-handedly turned the tide in the state of Michigan to become a red state or at the very best purple.
Yet history shows a different story from a long-term standpoint.
We have NOT elected a conservative as governor here since John Engler in 1998. Rick Snyder winning as a Republican was adorable as a GOPer, but as the kids on social media like to yell, he was RINO, and he actually was.
On the United States Senate side, we had a close race here back in 2024 with Republican Mike Rogers (who was endorsed by President Trump) losing to Elissa Slotkin by 19,006, or 48.6 percent to 48.3 percent, which was really close. Rogers was not Donald Trump though, so he ended up losing.
That happens here a lot to statewide Republicans not named Trump it seems.
However, being that Donald Trump will never be at the top of a ticket again, taking steps today to guarantee that elections going forward only have ballots cast and counted from those who are legally eligible to vote in the United States is a common sense thing to do ahead of time.
Thankfully, one Republican is looking into the future to actually make sure votes that are cast are by legal citizens.