Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has vetoed a set of GOP-backed election bills connected to conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. As elsewhere, the content of certain elements of these bills directly reflects false notions about what went on during the course of last year’s presidential race. For instance, one of the pieces of legislation imposed restrictions on who could access the Michigan elections database known as the Qualified Voter File. Whitmer noted that the measure “implies that outside parties had access to the state’s qualified voter file,” which is false.
As the governor pointedly explained:
‘I am laser focused on kitchen-table issues that get things done for Michiganders, like fixing the roads, ensuring clean water, and providing good-paying jobs. We can and should work together on election policy, as well – but only in ways that strengthen our democracy. I am ready to join hands with anyone who shares these goals.
Referring to the so-called “Big Lie” that the election was somehow stolen, Whitmer added that she “will have no part in any effort that grants an ounce of credence to this deception, so injurious to our democracy.” Another bill from the set that Whitmer vetoed was set to prohibit internet access on certain voting-related machines — but within Michigan, these machines are already, generally speaking, not connected to the internet, despite right-wing conspiracy theories insisting otherwise. Whitmer noted that the legislation “implies that electronic poll books were connected to the internet and vulnerable to tampering,” which is false.
On a similar note, Idaho authorities recently took on a Mike Lindell-backed claim that there’d been electronic manipulation of the vote tabulation process in every county in that state. As in Michigan, the claim was fundamentally disconnected from reality, since over half a dozen Idaho counties don’t even have any electronic steps in their vote tabulation processes.
In other words, these election conspiracy theories are strikingly irreflective of actual facts — and yet, certain prominent Republicans including Trump himself continue to push the nonsense to supporters anyway. Meanwhile, Whitmer also vetoed a GOP-backed bill to expand voting locations because she said that it would “make it more difficult for seniors and persons living in large apartment complexes to vote,” and she also vetoed a measure that would have required additional training for partisan election observers, saying that while the bill “is worth further consideration,” it “must have the necessary funding to accomplish its purpose.”
