State Voting Rights Act Summary

• Creates a comprehensive state voting rights act prohibiting local governments from imposing voting requirements, election administration policies, or taking actions that result in disparities in voter participation or impair protected class members' equal opportunity to participate in elections and nominate/elect candidates of their choice.

• Establishes protections for racial, color, and language minority groups (protected classes) including preventing discriminatory polling place closures, election date changes, and voting method changes; requires local governments to provide voting materials in languages other than English as mandated by state law.

• Creates a pre-litigation process requiring prospective plaintiffs to send a notification letter to local governments detailing alleged violations and proposing remedies, with opportunity for 30-60 day negotiation period before filing complaints with the Secretary of State or court actions.

• Authorizes courts to order broad remedies for violations including drawing new districts, adopting alternative voting methods, adding polling places and voting days, ordering special elections, imposing compensatory and punitive damages (deposited into new Michigan Voting Rights Assistance Fund), and requiring judicial preapproval of voting-related policies for up to 10 years.

• Establishes court-appointed monitors for local governments violating disabled electors' rights, with monitors investigating complaints and reporting on compliance with accessibility requirements under state and federal law; awards attorney fees and litigation costs to prevailing plaintiffs and requires expedited court proceedings for election-related cases.