Your seat at the table.

Lansing votes on bills that affect your bills, your kids' schools, your healthcare, and your right to vote. This page tracks them — what they do, where they stand, and how our current representative votes.

Everything is researched and cited so you can verify it yourself. Representatives report to voters. This is what that looks like.

  • What it does: Requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in Michigan.

    • Accepted documents: passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers

    • Standard driver's license no longer qualifies

    • Voters whose citizenship can't be verified would be limited to federal elections only

    Why it matters in the 105th

    • 60% of Michiganders don't have a valid passport

    • 2.2 million married women in Michigan have birth certificates in their maiden names — they'd also need a marriage certificate

    • Michigan's last statewide review found 15 potential non-citizen voters out of 5.7 million ballots — most turned out to be clerical errors

    Sponsor:

    • Rep. Jason Woolford (R-Howell)

    Where it stands:

    • Passed the Michigan House. In the Senate, where it is not expected to advance.

    How Rep. Ken Borton (R-Gaylord) voted: YES

    Our position: We'd vote no.

    HB 4765 adds paperwork barriers for eligible voters to solve a problem the state's own data shows is statistically near zero.

    The right to vote shouldn't depend on how easy it is to dig up your birth certificate.

    Sources House Bill 4765 — Michigan Legislature · Rep. Ken Borton's voting record — MichiganVotes.org · Michigan Department of State statement, March 3, 2026 · Michigan Independent, March 2026

  • What it does:
    Sets up Michigan's own voting rights protections, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down most of the federal Voting Rights Act in April 2026. The package is four bills working together.

    • Bans voter suppression and unfair voting maps

    • Creates a path for voters to challenge violations in court

    • Builds a public database to track election problems

    • Holds local election officials to the new rules

    Why it matters in the 105th

    • For 60 years, a federal law called the Voting Rights Act protected people from being kept away from the ballot box. In April 2026, the Supreme Court took most of that law away

    • Michigan's voting maps were drawn to follow that federal law. Now they may need to be redrawn — which could change the shape of our district

    • This bill protects every Michigan voter, no matter where they live. It covers things like polling places, absentee ballots, and voter lists

    • In small counties like ours, election workers often work part-time with small budgets. This bill gives them clearer rules and more support

    Sponsors: Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton), Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), Sen. Erika Geiss (D-Taylor), Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield)

    Where it stands: Filed in the Senate on May 13, 2026. Cleared its first committee on May 20. Still needs a full Senate vote before it can come to the House.

    How Rep. Ken Borton (R-Gaylord) voted: Not yet voted — the bill is still in the Senate.

    Our position We'd vote yes — in principle. More eligible voters, not fewer. We're reading the full bill carefully as it moves, and we'll flag anything worth a second look.

    Sources Senate Bills 961-964 — Michigan Legislature · Senate Democrats announcement, May 13, 2026 · Michigan Advance — "With the federal Voting Rights Act gutted, Michigan Democrats have crafted their own version" · League of Women Voters of Michigan — MIVRA

  • What it does:

    Michigan said it was okay for Consumers Energy to close the J.H. Campbell coal plant on May 31, 2025. The plan had been in the works for years. The Trump administration said no — and ordered the plant to keep running. HR 219 asks the federal government to step back and let Michigan's decision stand.

    • Michigan approved the closure in 2022. The power company and the region's grid operator both agreed the plant was ready to close.

    • Eight days before the shutdown, the Trump administration declared an "energy emergency" and ordered the plant to stay open for 90 more days.

    • That order has been extended at least five times. The plant is still running as of May 2026.

    • 37 of the 52 Democratic members of the Michigan House signed on to this resolution asking the federal government to stop.

    Why it matters in the 105th:

    • Consumers Energy provides power to homes and businesses in Crawford, Otsego, and Roscommon counties. When the company's costs go up, your bills can too.

    • Keeping the plant open is costing about $600,000 a day. Michigan customers will be on the hook for at least $180 million — and the extensions keep coming.

    • The company had estimated that closing the plant on schedule would save Michigan customers $600 million by 2040. That savings is now on hold.

    • At the busiest point of last summer, the power grid had more than 10 times the energy the Campbell plant was producing. Independent data disputes the "emergency."

    Sponsor(s): Rep. Stephen Wooden (D-Grand Rapids) and 36 Democratic co-introducers

    Where it stands: Introduced in the Michigan House, November 2025. Resolutions need to be scheduled by House leadership before members can vote on them. It has not been scheduled.

    How Rep. Ken Borton (R-Gaylord) voted: No vote scheduled, no vote recorded. He has not made a public statement on the federal orders keeping the plant open.

    Our position: We'd support this resolution. Michigan — not Washington — should decide when Michigan power plants close. Forcing the plant to stay open has already cost Michigan customers $180 million. That's not an energy policy. That's a bill.

    Sources:

    HR 219 — Michigan Legislature · Michigan Advance, Nov. 17, 2025 · Environmental Defense Fund, May 4, 2026 · Michigan Public Radio, May 15, 2026

This section is being researched and will be updated as we learn more about what’s happening in Lansing!