July 5th, 2023

Fully funded elections are part of Michigan’s critical infrastructure. They help to protect democracy and uplift the voices of voters. Since the passage of Proposal 2 in the November 2022 election, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has continued to defend the crucial need for the full funding for proper implementation of Proposal 2. In January, SOS Benson sent a letter to the top lawmakers and executive staff to request an estimated $150 million for the successful implementation of Proposal 2. Since then, that number has increased to $177 million.

This $177 million would implement the changes to Michigan elections that Proposal 2 institutes including:

  • $105 million: Nine days of early in-person voting (Polling locations/rental, local clerks/townships increase, equipment upgrades)
    • Staff for nine days of early voting, absentee ballot processing and tabulation
  • $50 million: 
    • State-funded dropboxes (2000+ more drop boxes are needed to meet the 1 per 15,000 voter requirement)
    • $5 million: Prepaid postage for absentee ballots and applications
  • $20 million:
    • Technical upgrades
  • $3 million:
    • Financial disclosure requirements

 

“The bottom line of all of this is the importance of fully funding our elections,” … “We hope that you will work with clerks and with our team to provide predictable, sustainable and efficient funding of our elections.” – Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson

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