Michigan House Passes Proof of Citizenship Voting Bill as Democrats Warn of Voter Barriers

The Michigan House voted Tuesday to approve legislation that would require individuals registering to vote to first show proof of citizenship, a move that Democratic lawmakers say could create significant barriers for eligible voters across West Michigan.

House Bill 4765 passed along party lines with a vote of 58-46. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Jason Woolford, R-Howell, who argued it would rebuild trust in state elections while limiting instances where noncitizens ended up in the qualified voter file.

"This is not a red issue. It's not a blue issue. It truly is a red, white and blue issue," Woolford said during the floor debate.

The bill would amend Michigan election law to require the secretary of state to verify the citizenship status of an individual when they apply to register to vote. Verification would be possible through databases maintained by the Michigan Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

But to expedite the verification process, applicants could also provide their own satisfactory evidence, including:

• Driver licenses or ID cards with citizenship verification, like the enhanced ID
• Birth certificate verifying U.S. citizenship, which could be accompanied by a marriage license or other documentation showing a name change
• A U.S. passport
• Naturalization documents or the number of a certificate of naturalization
• A certificate of citizenship
• An American Indian card issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with the classification KIC

Applicants would not be registered electors until their citizenship is verified. Those whose citizenship status could not be verified would have to be designated in the qualified voter file as a federal-only voter. They would be ineligible to vote in state or local elections.

"Citizenship is already a legal requirement for voting in Michigan," Woolford said. "But the bill would rebuild Michiganders' trust in state and local elections while limiting documented instances where noncitizens ended up in the qualified voter file."

He referenced a 2024 incident where a Chinese student voted illegally in a state election, resulting in criminal charges before the individual fled the country.

"It's important to remember that every improper ballot cancels out the lawful vote of a Michigan citizen," Woolford said. "It's about basic fairness."

Democrats responded that instances of noncitizen voting are rare, and the provisions in the bill could disenfranchise more legal voters than they would likely catch instances of illegal voting.

"The reality is, these things just disenfranchise legal voters," Rep. Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton, the Michigan House Minority Leader, said. "We've seen them put into law in other places around the country and they failed miserably."

Rep. Sharon MacDonell, D-Troy, described the legislation as "nothing more than a poll tax in sheep's clothing."

Rep. Stephen Wooden, D-Grand Rapids, said it's estimated that 9% of U.S. citizens do not have a passport, birth certificate or other documented proof of citizenship at home.

"While many may be able to obtain these documents ahead of an election, other citizens will not," Wooden said, pointing to a proof of citizenship law in Kansas that was struck down in 2018 after a court found around 31,000 eligible voters had been blocked.

Those who could struggle to meet documentation requirements include adopted individuals, children in foster care, individuals with disabilities and newlyweds who have legally changed their last name, MacDonell said.

"This bill would create a financial barrier for citizens to exercise their constitutional right to vote by requiring people to update their licenses, get passports and update birth certificates if their name has changed," Rep. Rachelle Foreman, D-Ann Arbor, said. "Updating these documents is not cheap, and it takes time that a lot of working folks don't have."

Wooden estimated it would cost Michiganders up to $150 million in total new fees if everyone in the state wants to upgrade their driver licenses or state-issued IDs for voting.

"Not at a time when Michiganders are struggling to make ends meet," he said. "This bill seeks to saddle people with new fees for an issue that is so astonishingly rare, it is virtually nonexistent."

Rep. Josh Schriver, R-Oxford, highlighted a provision in the bill that protects citizenship documents within a voter registration record from being released.

According to House Fiscal analysis, the bill would increase revenue to the Department of State and Department of Health and Human Services, due to an anticipated influx of service fees paid for birth certificates and enhanced driver licenses.

Enhanced driver licenses come with a fee of $45, and ID cards cost $30. Both can be used in place of a U.S. passport. With a 20% increase in annual transactions, DOS would receive around $5.3 million in additional revenue, deposited in a state-restricted fund and used to cover the department's administration and enforcement expenses.

The bill would also result in added costs for both the state and county, township and city clerk's offices. It would add administrative responsibilities for the state Bureau of Elections, resulting in higher costs and potential need for more staff. House Fiscal analysis also referenced the potential for the state to incur legal costs necessary to defend the bill against lawsuits, with some states enacting similar proof of citizenship requirements subject to litigation. Legal costs for Arizona and Kansas to defend their proof of citizenship laws have been over $2 million each, the analysis reads.

Also passed on Tuesday was Rep. Rachelle Smit's, R-Martin, House Bill 4270, which prohibits electronic voting systems acquired after Jan 1, 2026 from including parts or equipment produced by foreign companies found to present a security threat.

"The federal government is already doing much of the work by maintaining a comprehensive list of companies that pose national security risks," Smit said. "This requirement is a common-sense measure to protect our elections from foreign influence."

The Department of State took a neutral position on the bill, which passed by a vote of 63-41. Both bills will now advance to the Senate, where they face uncertain prospects in the Democrat-controlled chamber.

Sources

• https://www.mlive.com/news/2026/04/michigan-house-passes-bill-requiring-proof-of-citizenship-to-register-to-vote.html
• https://wsbt.com/news/regional/michigan-house-passes-bill-proof-citizenship-vote-election-polls-government-republicans-democrats-lansing-state
• https://wtvbam.com/2026/04/16/924796/