Lansing Democrats are forcing through changes to Michigan elections laws just days before they lose their trifecta grip on the state government.

Democrats introduced House Bills 6052, 6053, 6054 and 6055 two days after the Nov. 5 presidential election. A week later, the Democrat-majority House Elections Committee advanced the proposals.

They voted 56-53 to pass the measures, which now head to the state Senate for consideration and likely approval.

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“After losing in November, Democrats just voted to undermine election security in our state,” incoming House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Twp., said in a post on X. “In the middle of the night, they rammed through an outrageous bill to use even more print-on-demand ballots, which can’t be traced and open another door to fraud.

“Only weeks ago, a Chinese national illegally voted and had his ballot counted,” Hall added. “Now is the time to fix the loopholes we know exist. Dems are doing the opposite, making it harder to track ballots. I’ll never stop fighting for election integrity!”

HB 6052 would expand the use of on-demand ballot printing systems beyond early voting. The push follows last year’s Public Act 81, which amended the state’s election law exempting ballots produced by on-demand ballot printing systems for early voting from the mandate that paper ballots be numbered sequentially and have an attached, perforated and numbered stub.

HB 6053 would extend the period for a rebuttable presumption from 28 days to 45 days before an election. House Bill 6055 would change current rules on early voting sites, early voting agreements, absentee ballots, election equipment and election administration, and House Bill 6054 would amend sentencing guidelines in state law based on HB 6055.

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Officials said that ballot-on-demand technology for early voting accounted for more than one million ballots this year. The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan was among the groups that spoke in support of HB 6052 during a Nov. 12 House Elections Committee meeting, while Pure Integrity for Michigan Elections spoke in opposition to the proposal.

State Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton Township, who previously served as the Brighton Township clerk, raised concerns about the measures and how on-demand ballot printing led to problems in multiple communities, resulting in longer lines and delays during early voting.

“I am absolutely appalled that this committee would put forth changes to election law when we haven’t even fully processed the Nov. 5 election,” Bollin said in a statement at the time. “Our clerks are still hard at work closing out this election, ensuring accuracy, and cleaning up from one of the most logistically challenging election cycles we’ve had.

“We are not even through the certification process, and the required post-election audits haven’t been completed,” Bollin added. “Rushing through changes at this point is reckless and undermines our election process.”

The measures are among a spate of bills Democrats want to pass in the waning days of the session. They have proposed, then paused, a measure to bind the state’s presidential vote to the national popular vote and another to give driver’s licenses to illegals.

As part of their opposition, Republicans pointed to a 19-year-old Chinese national and University of Michigan student who was charged with filing a false affidavit to register to vote and illegally voted in this year’s general election. Haoxiang Gao, 19, was arraigned last month in Ann Arbor’s 15th District Court on a pair of felony charges, according to court records.

According to reports, the student used documentation, including a university student identification card, to establish his residency in Ann Arbor and register to vote. He identified himself as a U.S. citizen on a signed document, and his ballot was submitted.

How They Voted

Democrat (56 Yeas / 0 Nays)

Aiyash (D-9); Andrews (D-38); Arbit (D-20); Brabec (D-33); Breen (D-21); Brixie (D-73); Byrnes (D-15); Carter (D-53); Carter (D-1); Churches (D-27); Coffia (D-103); Conlin (D-48); Dievendorf (D-77); Edwards (D-12); Farhat (D-3); Fitzgerald (D-83); Glanville (D-84); Grant (D-82); Haadsma (D-44); Herzberg (D-25); Hill (D-109); Hood (D-81); Hope (D-74); Hoskins (D-18); Koleszar (D-22); Liberati (D-2); MacDonell (D-56); Martus (D-69); McFall (D-8): McKinney (D-14); Mentzer (D-61); Miller (D-31); Morgan (D-23); Morse (D-40); Neeley (D-70); O’Neal (D-94); Paiz (D-11); Pohutsky (D-17); Price (D-5); Puri (D-24); Rheingans (D-47); Rogers (D-41); Scott (D-7); Shannon (D-58); Skaggs (D-80); Snyder (D-87); Steckloff (D-19); Tate (D-10); Tsernoglou (D-75); Wegela (D-26); Weiss (D-6); Whitsett (D-4); Wilson (D-32); Witwer (D-76); Xiong (D-13); Young (D-16)

Republican (53 Nays / 0 Yeas)

Alexander (R-98); Aragona (R-60); Beeler (R-64); BeGole (R-71); Beson (R-96); Bezotte (R-50); Bierlein (R-97); Bollin (R-49); Borton (R-105); Bruck (R-30); Carra (R-36); Cavitt (R-106); DeBoer (R-86); DeBoyer (R-63); DeSana (R-29); Filler (R-93); Fink (R-35); Fox (R-101); Friske (R-107); Green (R-67); Greene (R-65); Hall (R-42); Harris (R-52); Hoadley (R-99); Johnsen (R-78); Kuhn, (R-57); Kunse (R-100); Lightner (R-45); Maddock (R-51); Markkanen (R-110); Martin (R-68); Meerman (R-89); Mueller (R-72); Neyer (R-92); Outman (R-91); Paquette (R-37); Posthumus (R-90); Prestin (R-108); Rigas (R-79); Roth (R-104); Schmaltz (R-46); Schriver (R-66); Schuette (R-95); Slagh (R-85); Smit (R-43); St. Germaine (R-62); Steele (R-54); Thompson (R-28); Tisdel (R-55); VanWoerkom (R-88); Wendzel (R-39); Wozniak (R-59); Zorn (R-34)