Detroit automakers blast Michigan GOP's new voter suppression bill

Major employers in the state of Michigan, including its two iconic car manufacturers, are blasting the state's Republican Party for its new voter suppression bill.

The Detroit Free Press reports that Detroit auto titans General Motors and Ford have come out against the Michigan GOP's new voting restrictions that they said would make voting unnecessarily onerous.

"Government must support equitable access to the ballot," the companies wrote in their statement opposing the proposed GOP measures. "Government must avoid actions that reduce participation in elections, particularly among historically disenfranchised communities."

The Detroit Free Press writes that the Michigan GOP's proposed new voting laws would, among other things, "require absentee voters to mail in a paper copy of their ID with their ballot application, shorten the deadline for returning absentee ballots, bar clerks from purchasing prepaid postage for absentee ballot return envelopes and limit the secretary of state's ability to help voters request an absentee ballot."

In addition to GM and Ford, major Michigan employers including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Quicken Loans, and First Independence Bank also signed on to oppose the proposed changes.