To the Journal editor:

Your right to vote is being attacked. Right now, petitions are being circulated to get a proposed amendment on the ballot in 2026 that would disenfranchise tens of thousands of eligible Michigan voters, all in the name of keeping non-citizens from voting. They already don’t. Seriously, about 15 votes per major election are fraudulent.

Of course, the circulators are not telling you this. They say, “This is to make sure you have to show a photo ID to vote. And if you don’t have one, we’ll pay for it!” How kind. Unfortunately, they are skipping some critical information. The amendment would require documentary proof of citizenship (i.e. an original birth certificate, passport or naturalization papers) to register to vote. And you can only register in person. Oh, and the name on this document has to match your current legal name. Are you a woman who changed your name when you married? Does your birth certificate say your new name? Oops! Twenty million Americans do not have access to documentary proof of citizenship, let alone with their current legal name. Obtaining such documents is challenging, time consuming and expensive. These amendments will lead to voter disenfranchisement. End of story. Voting, the cornerstone of our democracy, should be easy, not hard or impossible.

So if someone asks you to sign a petition that requires an ID to vote, or talks about citizens voting, decline to sign! And please warn others about these deceitful petitions.