02/24/2023
ACTION ALERT: Election Carry Bans
House Bills 4127-4130 are expected to be taken up by the House Elections Committee this coming Tuesday, February 28 at 10:30 AM.
House Bill 4127 prohibits the possession of fi****ms at or within 100 feet of a polling place during election day. The bill also prohibits fi****ms possession at early voting sites beginning on the second Saturday before an election and ending on the Sunday before the election, and within 100 feet of an absent voter ballot drop box for 40 days before an election.
Consider how extreme this bill is. Many ballot drop boxes are located curbside within 100' of roads, streets, and sidewalks. There are several dozens of these drop boxes in each county. Kent County, for example, has 42 ballot drop boxes.
House Bill 4127 would make it a misdemeanor to otherwise legally carry within 100' of them within 40 days of an election. Michigan has three regular election dates per year plus presidential primaries. That's at least 1/3 of the year, every year, that these road, streets, sidewalks, libraries, local government buildings, and adjacent businesses would be off limits to legal concealed & open carry outside the home.
Michigan law already prohibits brandishing a firearm in public. Brandish is defined in MCL 750.222 as "to point, wave about, or display in a threatening manner with the intent to induce fear in another person."
If the intent of these bills is truly to prevent harassment and intimidation at polling places and ballot counting locations the bills would focus on increased penalties for brandishing at these locations. Instead, they target legal carry in general.
The text of HB 4127 can be found here: http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?2023-HB-4127
The committee home page can be found here: https://www.house.mi.gov/Committee/HELEC
You can find ballot drop box locations near you here: https://michigandropbox.com/
