Election Fairness Matters #4
THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT, FRIENDS. PLEASE READ AND GIVE IT SOME THOUGHT. (Thank you!)
In 2024, there were 36 new Harbor Springs voters who attested they live most the year in Harbor Springs for purposes of voting but did not claim their address here as their primary residence for taxes.
Twenty-seven of our new voters are known renters. They are eligible to vote but not to claim any tax benefit on their residence.
The remaining 48 new registered voters took the Primary Resident Exemption (PRE). Those voters swore under penalty of perjury on both their voting and tax forms that they were Harbor Springs residents a greater part of the year.
Of the 48 who took the PRE last year, 15 have mailing addresses not in Harbor Springs. In other words, nearly one-third of our new voters who also took the PRE list an address outside of Harbor Springs as their mailing address. (Half of those have an address somewhere else in Michigan. The other half get mail in California, Colorado, Missouri, Nevada and Ohio)
All totaled, of the new 111 registered voters, 62% either do not claim their Harbor Springs residence as their primary home for tax purposes or claim the PRE but have their mail delivered somewhere else. (For purposes of fairness, those under 26 were counted with their parents' tax status-unless clearly living on their own).
It is clear, the 2024 fall election in Harbor Springs was influenced heavily by many who do not live here a majority of the year. Those new voters did not meet the state of Michigan definition of "resident."
I received an email that asked, "What's all the fuss about folks choosing to vote from where they love to be?"
It's not a bad question. My answer is pretty simple. There is a reason the state of Michigan defines "resident" for voting as someone who lives in a place most of the time. (The law doesn't mean the place you spend "most of the time" when you visit Michigan-it means where you live most of the year).
Here is the exact language:
Michigan Election Law Act 116 of 1954 168.11 "Residence" defined.
"Sec. 11. (1) "Residence", as used in this act, for registration and voting purposes means that place at which a person habitually sleeps, keeps his or her personal effects, and has a regular place of lodging. If a person has more than 1 residence, or if a person has a residence separate from that of his or her spouse, that place at which the person resides the greater part of the time shall be his or her official residence for the purposes of
this act."
People who are not "residents" registering here to change local election outcomes takes away our right of self-determination. Period. Full stop. They are violating a foundational American principle. We do not get to vote in every place we love-only in the place we live.
Additionally, those who are claiming the PRE but do not live here most of the time are not paying their fair share of taxes. They are skirting the rules to pay less than they owe.
Ultimately, the issues raised here are not about love of place, or even the law. These are issues of right and wrong.
Let me be perfectly clear. I think it is wrong to register to vote in a place where you are not a resident. That is "gaming" the election system for political advantage. It is also wrong to claim a property tax exemption on a place that is not your primary residence. I think a majority of residents of Harbor Springs agree with me.
A huge thank you to a group of volunteers who have helped to check and double-check the information I have shared with you this week. This is an important issue for our community, and I want to be sure everything I write, and share, is correct.
We've got work to do Harbor Springs. We need to reclaim what is ours and focus on doing what is right --- together. That's our way forward.
Thank you for reading and sharing. I am glad to call you my neighbors and Harbor Springs home.