A nonprofit report aims to build trust in Michigan’s voting system by explaining the safeguards that ensure fair and free elections.
The report from Informing Democracy shows that in Michigan, elections are mainly managed locally by more than 1,700 election offices statewide. Local officials handle most tasks on and after Election Day. County boards — with two Republicans and two Democrats — certify county results, while the state board certifies statewide and multi-county elections.
In Michigan, the group is on the lookout for certification deadlocks. Jenny Gimian heads up legal research at Informing Democracy.
“We work to identify places where there were enough election deniers or people that had previously acted against elections to either comprise a majority of board members who will be voting on certification or comprise of a deadlock, which is what we would probably see in Michigan, where election deniers are interested in subverting the process,” Gimian said.
The report shows Michigan’s election laws are strong. However, there are some vulnerabilities, where election deniers are interested in subverting the process. Several individuals of concern were found serving on county boards or as clerks in multiple counties including Wayne, Macomb, and Kalamazoo.
