Thursday, June 13, 2019
INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 11
© 2019 The Michigan Daily
NEWS ....................................
OPINION ...............................
ARTS......................................
MiC.........................................
SPORTS................................
MICHIGAN IN COLOR
Discovery
Cultural and culinary dis-
covery in “Always be my
Maybe” and poetry by
Nada Eldawy
>> SEE PAGE 9
NEWS
Diversity in medicine
Students, faculty see need
for more diversity in the
University medical school
>> SEE PAGE 3
OPINION
Political celebrities
Samantha Sella
Fere explores the
celebritization of
politicians
>> SEE PAGE 5
ARTS
Big releases
Comebacks for ‘Big Little
Lies’ with Season 2 and
The Jonas Brothers with
“Happiness Begins”
>> SEE PAGES 6 & 8
SPORTS
World Series
Baseball advances to
Men’s College World
Series for first time since
1984
>> SEE PAGE 12
inside
2
4
6
9
10
Secretary of
State introduces
college-age voter
initatives
On June 5, Secretary of State
Jocelyn
Benson
announced
several initiatives designed to
encourage participation among
student and college-age voters,
including the strikedown of a
current law requiring some first-
time voters to vote in person.
The changes come from a
settlement meant to resolve a
lawsuit brought forth by the
University of Michigan’s chapter
of
College
Democrats
and
other student groups alleging
Michigan’s
voting
regulations
unconstitutionally
disfranchise
younger voters.
“Going away to school shouldn’t
complicate a student’s ability to
vote,” Benson said. “Michigan
has made great strides recently
in improving access for all voters,
and this is just the beginning of
our work to ensure college-age
voters have the information and
opportunities they need to vote as
engaged citizens.”
In late August 2018, College
Democrats
at
University
of
Michigan,
Michigan
State
University, Northern Michigan
University and the Michigan
Federation of College Democrats,
with support from the Democratic
Congressional
Campaign
Committee, filed a lawsuit against
then-Secretary of State Ruth
Johnson and Bureau of Elections
Director Sally Williams.
According to the plaintiff’s press
release, the lawsuit addresses two
Michigan’s
voter
registration
and ID laws, Michigan Public
Act 118 and Michigan Compiled
Laws 168.509t(2). The former
law said the listed residence on
a voter’s driver license and voter
registration card must match,
while the latter requires voters
who register by mail or through
a third-party voter registration
drive to cast their first ballot
in-person.
The plaintiffs, represented by
Perkins Coie LLP and MSU law
professor Mark Totten, allege
the two laws discourage college-
age individuals from voting by
unnecessarily complicating the
process and making it more time-
consuming.
“(Y)oung voters in Michigan
have
faced
unequal
and
consequential
barriers
in
registering to vote and voting for
the first time,” the complaint read.
“Indeed, in many cases, these
laws have resulted in a chilling
effect that has kept eligible young
voters in Michigan from voting
and registering to vote entirely
due to widespread confusion
about the laws’ requirements and
legal effects.”
In particular, plaintiffs claim
the
“First-Time/In-Person”
requirement
deter
first-time
student voters who have moved
considerable distances to attend
college or university, as they
would need to return to their
home precincts to cast their
ballots.
After the lawsuit was filed,
Michigan
residents
voted
to
adopt Proposal 3 during the 2018
midterm election. Among other
changes to Michigan’s election
laws, Proposal 3 permits voters
to cast an absentee ballot without
providing a reason.
According
to
Benson’s
announcement,
she
will
be
overturning Michigan Compiled
Laws 168.509t(2) requiring first-
time voters to vote in-person, as
allowing for no-reason absentee
voting means the requirement
is
no
longer
constitutionally
enforceable.
Court-ordered
meeting with
Schlissel, ‘U’
reps delayed
Court of Appeals judge
postpones settlement
conference until
further notice
Sixteen hours before University of
Michigan President Mark Schlissel was
expected at U.S. District Court in Detroit
for a settlement conference as part of the
lawsuit Doe v. University of Michigan,
the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
released an order on Wednesday night
postponing the meeting until further
notice. The order grants an emergency
motion for stay filed by University
lawyers early Wednesday morning,
which only asks the meeting be delayed.
The
order
gives
the
Court
of
Appeals time to review the merits of an
emergency petition — filed at the same
time as the motion — requesting the
meeting be held without Schlissel and
off the record. The Court of Appeals
noted it may deny the requests of the
petition without an answer.
In an email to The Daily, University
spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald wrote
that University officials — including
Schlissel — were prepared to attend
a private settlement conference this
Thursday. Fitzgerald also wrote that
the University confirmed with court
clerks on May 24 the meeting would
be private, which he claimed is “a
normal
expectation
for
settlement
conferences.”
However, learning Tuesday morning
District Court Judge Arthur Tarnow
had ordered the meeting be held in
open court instead, University lawyers
filed two emergency requests, a step
Fitzgerald called “extraordinary.”
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College Dems lawsuit expands
collegiate voting opportunities
MILES MACKLIN/Daily