Meme by LX, The Authorz Voice, Pen2@voxlx.com
Nothing to see here. Early voting excluded from transparency laws.
by Patrice Johnson | March 5, 2024
Nine days of early voting in Michigan’s Presidential Primary was a big, fat flop. Of the state’s 8.3 million registered voters, only 78 thousand, 4.12%, voted early. In contrast, cost of staffing polling locations across the state’s 1,520 jurisdictions for nine days skyrocketed, clipping taxpayers for approximately $30 million, more than doubling the $13 million cost of Michigan’s 2016 election. The average cost per early voter was $383. Rather than discuss the issue or suggest remedies, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) changed to the state’s public reporting.
On February 29, just prior to the state’s release of Presidential Primary voting records, Secretary Benson’s Freedom of Information Act coordinator notified subscribers.
“The Voter Type column with codes A=Absentee, ED=Election Day, and EV=Early Voter will be removed from the report,” wrote FOIA Coordinator, Sherri Hines.
In other words, as of March 1, Michigan’s official voter rolls, called the Qualified Voter File (QVF), no longer disclose whether people voted absentee, on Election Day, or early voted.
Hines acknowledged the significance of the change, saying, “We know this is a big change to the reporting process.” Hines is an employee in the office of the Secretary of State and its Bureau of Elections.
The Secretary of State’s office initiated the cloaking, Hines said, in order to protect the secrecy of ballots. “The constitutional right to a secret ballot is the impetus behind this change in the reporting. For example, there were areas that reported one early voter and if the voting type were to be disclosed, it is possible that the electors vote would not remain secret once the election results are posted for their area.”
Tim Vetter, co-founder of CheckMyVote told Michigan Fair Elections the lack of transparency raised the specter of abuse. “Keep in mind, local clerks have seven days after an election to upload vote results into the QVF.”
Former Senator Patrick Colbeck tweeted opposition to the move, saying the change “inhibits the ability of auditors to verify the chain of custody for election records.”
To view your county’s participation scroll down the interactive map, color-coded for early turnout:
In fact, the turnout for the Presidential Primary has undergone a steady downtrend for the past eight years,—perhaps due to voters losing confidence in the integrity of elecitons due to the addition of no-excuse mail-in balloting, same day registration, drop boxes, loosened identity requirements, and unclear or lacking citizenship and identity verification.
CBS News reported on February 28, “More than 1.8 million Michiganders voted in the 2024 Democratic and Republican primaries, making up around 22% of registered voters statewide.” About 1.1 million (60%) of the voters cast ballots in the Republican primary, while around 740,000 (40%) voted in the Democratic primary.
*2004 is an outlier as the Presidential Primary was held during the November Presidential Election. Source: Michigan Presidential Primary Facts and Statistics
No question, nine days of early voting in Michigan’s Presidential Primary was a giant flop. Kudos to the clerks who worked tirelessly to implement the major changes. No matter how a person slices early voting, few would argue that it is still preferable to mailing out millions of absentee ballots to voters on a 10-year absentee ballot list.
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You're Invited to a PIME Meeting March 9, 2024
Join us at our March 9th Pure Integrity Michigan Elections (PIME) monthly meeting.
This month's keynote speaker will be Phani Mantravadi, key developer of checkmyvote.org.
Learn about ongoing efforts to clean up voter rolls, and how YOU can help.
Get updates from the team on election legislation, upcoming events, ballot initiatives, fundraising, and on-going litigation.
It's a pot-luck, so come hungry and bring a dish to pass if you are so inclined.
Can't make this month's meeting? Click the link below to see our schedule for upcoming speakers, including William Wagner, Jason Woolford, and David Kallman.
Hope to see you there!
Mark your calendars to attend Election Integrity Network's outstanding national working groups. Consider also serving as liaison to report to MFE's Task Force Coalition on our Thursday meetings.
Citizen Research Project | Ned Jones, EIN
Every Tuesday at 6 p.m. (ET)
Election Technology | Jim Womack, NCEIT
Every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 4 p.m. (ET)
Introduction to Election Integrity Infrastructure | Kerri Toloczko and Ned Jones, EIN
Every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 7 p.m. (ET)
Vote By Mail / USPS | Ned Jones, EIN
Every 1st and 3rd Tuesday at 4 p.m. (ET)
Legislative Development | Kathleen Harms, TN
Every Wednesday at 2 p.m. (ET)
Voter Roll Maintenance | Willard Helander, EIN
Every Wednesday at 4 p.m. (ET)
Vulnerable Voters | Kerri Toloczko, EIN
Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday at 4 p.m. (ET)
Every 1st Thursday at 7 p.m. (ET)
Election Audits | Mike Raisch
Every 1st and 3rd Thursday at 4 p.m. (ET)
Building Local Task Forces | Joshua Taylor
Every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 7 p.m. (ET)
Media Training | Kerri Toloczko
Every 1st Thursday at 7 p.m. (ET)
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