In a move that could signal chaos in Michigan polling places, Detroit’s election director has said he wants to break with the Michigan Secretary of State over whether to include a citizenship question on the Nov. 6 ballot.
On Wednesday, Detroit Elections Director Daniel Baxter told MLive that the city would remove the controversial question from the ballot, saying he believed a gubernatorial veto of legislation this year authorized the removal of that question.
Critics have claimed the question presents a barrier to voting for new citizens, while Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said the question is merely a last-minute affirmation of citizenship –without need of documentation – before one casts their vote.
Following his statement Wednesday, Baxter, at the behest of the state elections bureau, agreed to hold off on removing the question until a federal judge rules on the matter.
Even so, Baxter’s eagerness to defy Johnson raises an interesting question. If Michigan election clerks are predisposed to make their own rules for election day, how does that affect the integrity and coherence of the state’s election process?
None too well, one might presume.
