Michigan's GOP Governor Vetoes Voter ID Bills

As controversy swirls over GOP voter identification efforts in several states, Michigan's governor has broken ranks with his party. Rick Snyder vetoed a pair of bills that would have called for proof of US citizenship to vote as well as a photo ID to obtain an absentee ballot. Though Snyder said he "appreciates the issue of ensuring voters are eligible and US citizens," the bills might become a source of "voter confusion among absentee voters," Politico reports.

The governor also rejected a bill calling for training for those registering voters. That bill would have complicated the get-out-the-vote process, Snyder said. He did approve 11 election bills proposed by his secretary of state that he said would add "appropriate safeguards" and heighten electoral "transparency." The GOP sponsors of the rejected voter ID bills said they were intended to reduce fraud. "Governor Snyder has missed an opportunity today to protect the integrity of our elections process," said a state senator. Critics, however, say such measures are aimed at reducing minority votes. (More Rick Snyder stories.)