Discrepancies abound over what IDs would be allowed in Michigan under citizen-only voting bill

A leader in the Michigan House Republican caucus is pushing new legislation that would require voters to prove they are United States citizens when they register to vote, and that bill had its first hearing on Tuesday before the chamber’s Election Integrity Committee.

The legislation, House Bill 4765, sponsored by state Rep. Jason Woolford (R-Howell), hits upon a major Republican agenda item in 2026 and beyond — ensuring that only U.S. citizens vote in state and federal elections — which is already a legal requirement. Regardless, the bill will likely move through the House quickly with the committee’s chair, state Rep. Rachelle Smit (R-Martin), appearing poised to move the bill soon at a future meeting.

Woolford’s bill does face an uphill battle with the Legislature’s Democrats, however, and even if it is fast-tracked in the lower chamber, the Democratic-led state Senate would surely kill the bill.

Much of the push behind citizen-only voting followed years of conspiratorial pandering from Republicans at the local, state and federal level and the propagation of the disproven belief that the 2020 election was rigged in favor of former President Joe Biden when he defeated President Donald Trump, who was then seeking reelection.



https://michiganadvance.com/2026/03/03/discrepancies-abound-over-what-ids-would-be-allowed-in-michigan-under-u-s-citizen-only-voting-bill/