MIDLAND DAILY NEWS, ABIGAIL VANDERMOLEN: With just a week to go until the May 5 special election, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and State Rep. Amos O’Neal joined Democrat State Senate candidate Chedrick Greene at the Buena Vista Community Center in Buena Vista Township on Monday to speak about voter turnout and voting rights.

A major point of discussion was the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which passed in the U.S. House in February and would require people to present documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote and photo ID when they vote, and which critics say would restrict voting access.

Speakers also encouraged voters to turn out to elect Greene. …

Gilchrist, who is president of the Michigan Senate as part of his role as lieutenant governor, said having Greene in the Senate would be important, including in fighting voter suppression. Legislation paralleling the federal SAVE Act passed in the Michigan House in April.

“I think 20 voices can be louder than 19,” Gilchrist said. “I think that his strength coming into this will be incredibly important.” …

… Greene was both the first and the last to speak at the event. He spoke about his military experience in Fallujah, Iraq during that country’s December 2005 election, where he said he met women over 80 who were voting for the first time.

“That was the first time that they ever had the opportunity to decide who they wanted to help lead their country,” Greene said. “Eighty years old, and that’s the first time that they ever had this opportunity, and we get it at 18 years old. So that’s how important it is. I’ve seen people literally die because they voted. We can’t take this for granted.”