State Rep. Rachelle Smit, speaker pro tempore of the state House, today was appointed to serve as chair of the House Election Integrity Committee.

The legislator previously served as Republican vice chair of the Elections Committee in the 2023-24 term, when Democrats controlled the House, and said she looks forward to leading the committee now that Republicans are back at the helm.

“It’s an honor to be appointed by Speaker Hall to lead this important committee,” Smit said. “Election integrity has been among my greatest passions for years. As a former clerk, I know as well as anyone that there are serious flaws in our system. I look forward to listening to and working closely with election clerks throughout the state to find solutions to patch the holes in our system.”

Just this week, Smit helped introduced legislation to amend the state constitution to protect the integrity of Michigan’s elections by requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote, and photo ID to cast a ballot.

To become state law, this proposed amendment must be approved by Michigan voters, but before appearing on the ballot, it must be approved by both the House and Senate with a two-thirds vote from each chamber. That means getting 74 votes in support from the 110 member House. The governor’s signature is not required for lawmakers to put an amendment on the ballot.

Democrats currently have majority in the state Senate while Republicans control the state House with a 58 to 52 seat advantage after flipping control of the chamber in November.

The amendment, introduced Tuesday, would also require the state to provide photo ID free of charge to citizens in financial hardship, as many opposers to voter ID requirements have argued accessibility to state identification would be an issue.

“While I disagree with the notion that voter ID laws are a partisan issue, this element of the proposal ensures that even concerns raised by Democrats were taken into consideration in our plan,” said Smit, a former township clerk. “We’ve gone to great lengths to make sure everything has been carefully thought out and safeguarded. Every legislator in our Capitol building should be able to get on board with this plan, regardless of which side of the aisles they sit on.”

Last fall, a Chinese national allegedly voted in the U.S. presidential election in Michigan, and his vote was counted because there is no way to track it once the vote has been tabulated. No safeguards stopped him from voting, and the only reason he was caught is because he later asked for his ballot back. Smit’s proposal would prevent that from ever happening again.

“Before, non-citizen voting was just a hypothetical, but now we know it’s really happening – and we’ll never know how often,” said Smit (R-Martin). “This event proved that voter ID laws are long overdue.”

If voters approve the proposed amendment:

• Anyone registering to vote after Dec. 18, 2026 will have to provide proof of citizenship. Proof of citizenship would only have to be provided when registering to vote; voters would not have to prove citizenship every single time they vote.

• Photo ID would be required to vote in-person. Citizens who do not remember to bring photo ID with them to their polling location will still be allowed to cast a provisional ballot by signing an affidavit of identify (just like under current law), but it won’t be tabulated unless they provide photo ID within six days.

• The state would be required to provide free photo ID to people who cannot afford it, so that they are not denied their constitutional right to vote.

• The Legislature would have to define how citizenship can be proved.

• Voters who choose to vote by absentee ballot would have to establish their identity by providing a copy of their ID, a driver’s license number, state personal identification number, or the last four digits of their social security number.

• The state would have to, on an ongoing basis, verify that everyone who appears in the statewide qualified voter file is a U.S. citizen, and that registration lists used in polling locations are consistent with the statewide qualified voter file. If a registered voter’s citizenship is challenged, they will get notified and have a chance to respond before their name is removed from the qualified vote file.

• If citizenship status is not confirmed before an individual attempts to vote, then they must cast a provisional ballot that will not be tabulated until they provide proof of citizenship.

House Joint Resolution B was referred to Smit’s committee, which is scheduled to meet on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. in room 307 of the House Office Building. Local residents and interested members of the media can tune into every committee meeting online, and can subscribe to committee notices via the Legislature’s website.

#####