HJR B Michigan House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Elections: registration; verification of an elector's United States citizenship; require, and modify voter identification requirements. Amends secs. 1 & 4, art. II of the state constitution.

This bill proposes a constitutional amendment requiring Michigan voters to verify U.S. citizenship before registering to vote or casting a ballot. It directly affects new voters registering after December 18, 2026, who must provide proof of citizenship (like a birth certificate) to election officials or have the Secretary of State verify it using federal records. The amendment mandates the Secretary of State to systematically check citizenship status annually, remove unverified non-citizens from voter files within 60 days of notice, and allow provisional ballots only if citizenship is verified within six days after an election. It also requires annual reports on verification results and removals. The bill does not affect current registered voters.

Bill status failed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 29, 2025 Last action May 1, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

House Introduced Joint Resolution → Substitute (H-1) · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill substitutes a version of a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to require verification of U.S. citizenship for voters and to modify voter identification requirements. The key substantive change is the addition of a systematic process for the Secretary of State to verify citizenship status of all individuals in the voter file, with mandatory removal of non-citizens after a 60-day notice period.

Scope change

The amendment now applies to all individuals registered to vote, not just those registering after December 18, 2026, as the systematic verification process covers the entire statewide qualified voter file.

REQUIREMENT

Added a mandatory systematic process requiring the Secretary of State to verify citizenship status of every individual in the statewide qualified voter file on an ongoing basis, except during the 90 days before federal elections.

ENFORCEMENT

Changed the notice period for citizenship verification from 60 days after receiving notice to 60 days after the written notice is sent, and added that non-citizens must be immediately removed from the voter file.

Added provision that provisional ballots cast by individuals whose citizenship is not verified within six days after the election must not be tabulated.

REPORTING

Added requirement that the Secretary of State's annual report must include the reason for each voter removal from the qualified voter file.

ELIGIBILITY

Changed the voting age requirement from 21 to 18 years, aligning with the current federal voting age.

Floor votes · House May 1, 2025

How they voted

59–46

Passed

Total votes 105

May 1, 2025

D Democratic46

46 Nay

100% Nay

R Republican59

59 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 1, 2025

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (59-46)

house

Apr 30, 2025

Lower · Passed

substitute (H-1) adopted

lower

Mar 11, 2025

Committee

referred to second reading

lower

Mar 11, 2025

Lower · Passed

reported with recommendation without amendment

lower

Jan 29, 2025

Committee

referred to Committee on Election Integrity

lower

Jan 29, 2025

Introduced

introduced by Representative Rep. Bryan Posthumus

lower

1 primary · 44 co-sponsors