FEBRUARY 22, 2005

Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land today announced that statewide precinct results for the November 2004 general election are available online – and in record time.

The voting totals cover every statewide race and ballot issue by precinct in each county.

"We’re pleased to provide this public service," said Land, Michigan’s chief election officer. "The information is extremely helpful to researchers, reporters, policymakers and others interested in Michigan election results and trends. We’re also proud of our Bureau of Elections for making this information available online so quickly. It’s a massive project that in the past has taken a year or more. This is just one more way that we’re working harder to serve our customers better."

Uplinking the results requires employees to manually "key in" more than 420,000 election records supplied by counties. Technical enhancements to the electronic system, as well as a more efficient allocation of staff, enabled the project to be completed in just five weeks.

Land, a recognized leader in state government technology, pointed out that electronic transmission of election data from counties to the state will eventually make the process easier as counties convert to optical scan voting equipment. The new system is designed to share data electronically, eliminating the need for all manual entries.

The results are available on the Department of State Web site at www.Michigan.gov/sos. Click on the "Elections in Michigan" link and go to "Election Information and Results." Under "Current Elections," simply look under the "2004 General Election" heading and click on "General Election Results by Precinct."