This week, Jackson City Council members will consider adopting an ordinance to prohibit people from leaving items and property unattended in public. The proposal has raised concerns about what it would mean for unhoused people. And the Lansing City Clerk's office is welcoming community members behind the scenes to see how it runs elections. Plus, early in-person voting begins July 25.
These are some of the biggest stories WKAR's Andrew Roth is following as part of his weekly column. What Roth's Watching? You can find his write-up in our newsletter, The Signal.
From Andrew:
1. Jackson sidewalk ordinance
Jackson City Council members will consider an ordinance Tuesday that would prohibit unauthorized encampments in public spaces. The city says the policy is meant to keep sidewalks and other paths required by the Americans with Disabilities Act open and is a response to “urgent, specific safety and accessibility problems." Critics say the ordinance is meant to criminalize an encampment of unhoused community members near Jackson’s Carnegie Library. The city would provide notice before removing personal property, which would then be stored and available for the owner to pick up for 30 days. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Jackson City Hall.
2.Lansing voting equipment test
Lansing Clerk Chris Swope is inviting members of the public to observe as election administrators run Logic and Accuracy testing of voting equipment Monday ahead of the Aug. 4 primary. The machines are tested to ensure the accuracy of the tabulation of votes and to ensure they correctly handle all possible scenarios, like cross-voted ballots and overvotes. The public test will take place at 2 p.m. at the Lansing Elections Office.
3.In-person early voting begins
In-person early voting for the Aug. 4 primary elections will begin Saturday. During the early voting period, voters are issued a ballot that they fill out on-site and insert directly into a tabulator. Michigan residents have until July 20 to register to vote online; after that, registration must happen in-person at a local clerk’s office through Election Day. Voters can check their registration status, polling location and early voting sites on the Michigan Voter Information Center.
Interview transcript:
Melorie Begay: This week in Mid-Michigan, Jackson City Council members will consider an ordinance that would prevent people from leaving items unattended in public spaces. The proposal has raised concerns about what it would mean for unhoused people. And the Lansing City Clerk is welcoming community members behind the scenes to see how they run elections. Plus, early in-person voting begins July 25.
These are some of the biggest stories WKAR's Andrew Roth is following as part of his weekly column. What Roth's Watching? You can find his write-up in our newsletter, The Signal.
Andrew joins me now. Thanks for being here, Andrew.
Andrew Roth: Always happy to join.
Begay: Let’s start with this new ordinance in Jackson that's being proposed. It's kind of designed to prevent people from leaving items unattended, and critics have said that this unfairly targets unhoused people, right?
Roth: Yes. So, there is an encampment of unhoused community members in front of Jackson's Carnegie Library. While the city says [the proposal] wouldn't necessarily specifically target unhoused individuals, it certainly would affect them because really the prohibition is on any personal property that blocks sidewalks or other ADA ramps and pathways. The prohibition is on private property in public spaces like parks, sidewalks, etc.
And so, certainly that would have an impact on unhoused individuals, but they would be given notice before any personal property is removed. The property would have to be tagged by the city, and then it would be held by the city for about a month, where people would be able to pick it up free of charge. So, they're not going to just come in and throw everything away necessarily.
Begay: Right. And the Jackson City Councilmembers will consider this on Tuesday, but before then, the Lansing City Clerk is inviting the public to take a look behind the scenes at how it conducts its elections. Andrew, can you tell us more about what the clerk wants to show people?
Roth: City Clerk Chris Swope is going to be doing some logic and accuracy testing of the city's voting equipment. What this does is it ensures the accuracy of the vote tabulators, ensuring that they correctly handle all of the possible scenarios, including if people cross vote their ballots. We have open primaries in Michigan, but you can only vote in either the Democratic or Republican side, not both. So if people cross-vote their ballots by voting in both primaries, or if they overvote, like if there's a race that you can only vote for one candidate in, and two bubbles are filled out, they're basically making sure that the equipment is set up to handle all of these different scenarios.
Begay: Yeah, and this event is also coming during an interesting time, right? Because the U.S. Department of Justice sent out letters recently that said it would send monitors to the city and questioned how the city conducts its elections.
Roth: Yeah. So, Lansing is one of three cities that the Department of Justice is planning to send monitors to. East Lansing is another one. This comes as there have been a lot of unfounded claims about the 2020 presidential election, and maybe to a lesser extent the 2024 presidential election. So [during] this event, I think, election officials really want to try to assure people that you can trust our election process by inviting them in and showing them how this equipment works.
Begay: Yeah, and speaking of elections, this Saturday, July 25, early in-person voting kicks off. Tell us more about what people should know about the upcoming primary election.
Roth: So, this is an option if you prefer to fill out a ballot on site and insert it directly into one of the vote tabulator machines, rather than [sending] an absentee ballot in the mail or in a ballot drop box. So this gives you a chance to have that in-person voting experience prior to the Aug. 4 primary. Michigan residents have until Monday to register to vote online. After that, you can still register to vote, it just has to happen in person at a local clerk's office through Election Day.
Begay: Andrew Roth is a reporter with WKAR. Thanks for being here, Andrew.
Roth: Always happy to be here.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
