State Rep. Bryan Posthumus on Tuesday introduced legislation to amend the state constitution to ensure that only U.S. citizens are able to vote, and to protect against voter fraud.

The proposed amendment would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote, and photo ID to cast a ballot.

“This is a no-brainer. Only U.S. citizens should vote in our elections,” said Posthumus, R-Rockford. “And people should have to show ID when voting to prove that they are who they say they are. That’s just common sense.”

The amendment would also require the state to provide photo ID free of charge to citizens who are experience financial hardship.

“That’s the only reasonable argument against requiring photo ID to vote – opponents say that some people can’t get it,” Posthumus said. “That’s ridiculous, because to function as an adult in our society today you need ID, but just to make sure that isn’t a stumbling block, the state will have to provide photo ID for free to people who cannot afford it. Problem solved.”

There are two ways to amend Michigan’s constitution:

The first and easiest way is that lawmakers can put a proposal on the ballot. That route requires a resolution to amend the state constitution to pass both the House and Senate with a two-thirds vote from each chamber. Hitting that two-thirds threshold means getting 74 votes in support from the 110 member House. The governor’s signature is not required for lawmakers to put an amendment on the ballot.

The other option is that citizens can gather petition signatures to amend the constitution through a ballot initiative. Either way, voters ultimately get to decide in an election whether an amendment is approved.

Posthumus said he thinks his resolution to amend the state constitution will pass the state Legislature because it would be political suicide for Democrats to vote against it.

Democrats currently have majority in the state Senate. Republicans have a 58 to 52 seat advantage in the Michigan House of Representatives after flipping control of the chamber in the Nov. 5 election.

Posthumus serves as the majority floor leader in the House.

Requiring proof of citizenship would avoid a situation such as what apparently happened last fall, when a Chinese national allegedly voted in the U.S. presidential election, and his vote was counted because there is no way to track a vote once a ballot has been tabulated. No safeguards stopped him from voting, and the only reason he got caught is because he later asked for his ballot back.

Posthumus said the situation proves that non-citizens voting is a real problem that needs to be fixed. There is a known loophole due to a flaw in current Michigan election law.

“No citizen should ever have their vote canceled out by a non-citizen voting the opposite direction,” Posthumus said.

If voters approve the proposed amendment:

• Anyone registering to vote after Dec. 18, 2026 will have to provide proof of citizenship. Proof of citizenship would only have to be provided when registering to vote; voters would not have to prove citizenship every single time they vote
• Photo ID would be required to vote in-person. Citizens who do not remember to bring photo ID with them to their polling location will still be allowed to cast a provisional ballot by signing an affidavit of identify (just like under current law), but it won’t be tabulated unless they provide photo ID within six days
• The state would be required to provide free photo ID to people who cannot afford it, so that they are not denied their constitutional right to vote
• The Legislature would have to define how citizenship can be proved
• Voters who choose to vote by absentee ballot would have to verify their identity by providing a copy of their ID, a driver’s license number, state personal identification number, or the last four digits of their social security number
• The state would have to, on an ongoing basis, verify that everyone who appears in the statewide qualified voter file is a U.S. citizen, and that registration lists used in polling locations are consistent with the statewide qualified voter file. If a registered voter’s citizenship is challenged, they will get notified and have a chance to respond before their name is removed from the qualified vote file
• If citizenship status is not confirmed before an individual attempts to vote, then they must cast a provisional ballot that will not be tabulated until they provide proof of citizenship

State Reps. Ann Bollin, Jay DeBoyer, and Rachelle Smit support the amendment; all three previously served as local clerks.

House Joint Resolution B was referred to the House Committee on Election Integrity.