3/7/22 - Voter Signature Rules

Monday, March 7, 2022 at 9:07 AM

Secretary of State Benson rejects changes to signature-verification rules in the state.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has rejected requested changes to rules that will guide election clerks on how to match the signatures of people applying for and submitting absentee ballots.

Benson accepted one recommended revision Friday but rejected eight others, saying the regulations are “based on facts, data and longstanding nonpartisan standard election administration practices.”

She says she’ll remove language instructing election officials to presume a signature is genuine and valid.

Benson began the rule-making process after a judge invalidated signature-verification standards she gave clerks before the 2020 election. The judge said it should have gone through the rule-making process.

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