Fact checks

 2020 was the first year that all Michigan voters had the right to vote absentee – following a voter-approved constitutional amendment passed in 2018 – and the height of the coronavirus pandemic. To ensure all voters knew they had the right to vote conveniently and safely by mail, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson directed the Michigan Bureau of Elections to mail absentee ballot request forms and instructions to every registered voter. Republican and Democratic Secretaries of State in many other states did the same, and in subsequent lawsuits, multiple judges ruled that this was within Secretary Benson’s authority.

The request forms had been available on the MDOS website for many years and were frequently mailed to voters by both political parties, candidate campaigns and numerous nonpartisan organizations.

The Bureau of Elections mailed applications to vote absentee to all Michiganders registered to vote who were not already going to receive one from their county, city or township clerk. Some clerks had already decided to mail applications to their voters, and some voters had already placed themselves on permanent absentee lists, which ensures they are mailed an application ahead of every election. 

The bureau’s mailing went to both active and inactive registered voters. By mailing the application to inactive voters, the state guaranteed equal access to voters who may have simply chosen not to vote in recent elections. It also advanced maintenance of the voter registration list as this was the first statewide mailing in a decade. Election officials used every application that was returned undeliverable by the postal service to start the process of cancelling the corresponding voter registration. Under federal law, if the voter takes no action such registrations can be cancelled after two federal election cycles.  

Absentee ballots and applications are rejected if they do not bear a signature that matches the signature on the voter’s file. 

Absentee ballot drop boxes provide a convenient and secure way for voters to return their absentee ballots to their local clerk, and township and city election clerks have accepted absentee ballots in drop boxes for many years. The state Legislature codified the practice in 2020 by passing legislation with bipartisan support to ensure drop box security. That was the first statewide election cycle in which all Michigan voters had the right to vote absentee – following a 2018 voter-approved constitutional amendment. Also in 2020 all Michigan clerks had access to federal funds to use for drop boxes.  

All videos suggesting drop boxes were used to commit election fraud in Michigan have been debunked for lack of evidence and understanding of Michigan election law. For example:

• In a video where a person is shown possibly bringing and signing more than one ballot to a drop box, they can legally be returning ballots for voters who are family members or members of their household, or voters who have a disability or otherwise need assistance. If so, the signature of the person bringing the ballot is required in addition to the signature of the voter. Further, all absentee ballot envelopes are checked to ensure the signature of the voter matches their signature the clerk has on file with their voter registration.
  
  
• In a video where a person is shown possibly transporting blank absentee ballots, they can be delivering them to satellite clerk offices for voters to use, or to an absentee counting board to duplicate military ballots that come in from overseas and need to be put on different paper to go through a tabulator.

Where a U.S. Postal Service employee is shown possibly putting absentee ballot applications or ballots into a drop box, this is a normal and legal activity, as USPS workers are required to expedite the return of election mail either by delivery to the clerk’s office or drop box. 

State and local election officials conducted more than 250 post-election audits of Michigan’s 2020 general election, all of which demonstrated the integrity and accuracy of the election. More detailed information is available in the report.

The bipartisan boards of canvassers at the county and state level are required by law to affirm the will of the people as demonstrated by the number of votes cast for each candidate in an election.

Following the 2020 general election, the boards of canvassers in all of Michigan’s 83 counties, as well as the board of state canvassers, certified the results.

Each board is comprised of two Republicans and two Democrats. Michigan law provides the county canvassers 14 days to examine everything that transpired in the elections in jurisdictions in their counties, and then certify the results and election. The state board of canvassers subsequently must vote to certify all the county elections. If canvassers were to encounter any evidence of fraud, they would need to report it to law enforcement. Following the 2020 election, no canvassers reported any fraud or other illegal activity occurred.

The Board of Wayne County Canvassers initially deadlocked 2-2 in its vote to certify, but later in the same meeting, members voted 4-0 to certify. The initial vote was taken after some canvassers expressed concern about precincts that were out of balance in Detroit. However, out-of-balance precincts are common in Michigan and across the nation. They essentially represent clerical errors where the number of people who were checked into each poll book doesn’t exactly match the number of votes counted or ballots submitted. There are many reasons this can occur: for example, a voter being checked in at the right polling place but the wrong precinct, or a voter checking in but leaving with their ballot if they decide not to vote. In fact, at least 72% of all Detroit precincts were balanced or explained, compared to just 42% in 2016, when both the boards of county and state canvassers certified the election.

Preventative maintenance on voting equipment does not destroy data. Preventative maintenance of voting equipment is routinely performed every two years and is a necessary security and maintenance process. It does not destroy any records required to be maintained under federal law. Batteries do not contain data and their replacement ensures Michigan voting equipment continues to function properly.

Federal law requires that election records are maintained for a minimum of 22 months after the certification of the federal election, and jurisdictions are allowed to preserve such records beyond 22 months.

Following the 2020 election, all election materials, including ballots and tallies – which are always on paper in Michigan – and countless other materials, were preserved. The Bureau of Elections sent a memo to clerks following certification of the election reminding them, among other things, to delete voter information from e-pollbooks to protect voter privacy, as the e-pollbooks (which are laptop computers) are not used until a subsequent election and the electronic copy of the information is not needed. This is the same memo that has been sent to clerks for years. Before data is deleted, clerks have already printed a copy from each e-pollbook as a securely stored record.

Errors reporting election results are not uncommon, but they are always caught and corrected by the election canvass if not before, because Michigan uses all paper ballots and prints paper tallies of the vote counts from its machines.

Ahead of the 2022 August primary, supposed “results” from news channels appeared online and in Google search results erroneously. No votes had been counted in the election.

News media often test their webpages with sample data ahead of elections to ensure they will function properly on election night. The news channels were running these routine tests when their sites were accidentally made live.

In the 2020 general election, Antrim County initially reported incorrect unofficial results because the clerk had updated the software on some but not all of the county’s Dominion vote counting machines. This was a user error, and not a flaw in the technology. (A more detailed explanation of the error is available here.)

A hand-tally audit of all the votes cast for president in Antrim County confirmed the machines had counted correctly and the certified election results were accurate. The audit was conducted by a bipartisan group of election officials with law enforcement and independent media present. It was also livestreamed for the public to view. (A statewide pilot risk-limiting audit after the 2020 March primary had demonstrated that Michigan’s vote-counting machines were accurate across the state.)

Shortly before the Antrim County audit, a partisan group with no experience in election administration or election technology, and a history of making incorrect claims, wrote a report that falsely and without evidence claimed the Dominion machines had acted improperly. This was thoroughly debunked by Dominion and the statement of an actual election expert submitted to the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs.

After the audit, the attorney for the same partisan group that had released the false report released videos of the audit. By omitting explanation provided by election officials, the videos wrongly suggested the audit had been conducted improperly. In fact, officials explained that:

• Dominion machines in Antrim County counted votes for president accurately.
  • Signatures do not appear on absentee ballots.
  • It is common for write-in candidates to appear in the same handwriting if the same election worker carries out the required act of duplicating the ballots of voters who are military/overseas/disabled (which are initially provided in a format that cannot be machine tabulated).
  • In accordance with the law, all materials from the election would be securely stored for 22 months should further investigation be necessary.
  • Anyone who found evidence of fraud or any criminal activity should report it to the local law enforcement officials on site.

  Following these explanations, no one expressed concern with the audit or made any reports of wrongdoing to law enforcement, including the attorney for the partisan group.

  In all, 65 Michigan counties used Dominion machines in the 2020 general election. Ninety percent of them – 59 out of 65 – were won by President Trump.

The use of a Sharpie permanent marker to mark a ballot will not invalidate or cancel a ballot or vote. If the marker does bleed through to the other side, ballots are designed so that the bleed through does not touch or come near a voting area on the other side of the ballot.

It will not alter or cancel any vote on the opposite side. The Sharpie is the recommended marking instrument by tabulator manufacturers and is preferable to an ink pen because it dries quickly and will not leave residue on the ballot scanner.

Michigan’s list of voter registrations is constantly updated in an electronic database called the Qualified Voter File. The secure file can be accessed by the Michigan Bureau of Elections and county, city and township clerks can access the portion of the file that pertains to their jurisdiction.

Third parties cannot access the Qualified Voter File. However, organizations that register voters can upload their registrations to the voter file electronically. The registrations they upload are put through security checks to confirm eligibility before they are added to the voter file.

Michigan has strong voter registration rates. This is partly due to the fact that decades ago Michigan pioneered the motor-voter system – now a national best practice – whereby eligible citizens can register to vote when obtaining a driver’s license of state ID. In 2018, Michigan citizens approved a constitutional amendment to make this process automatic, unless the person is ineligible or opts out of registration.

Maintenance of the voter registration list is carried out in strict accordance with all relevant state and federal laws by the Michigan Bureau of Elections and the more than 1,600 Republican, Democratic and nonpartisan election clerks in the state. The process by which the registrations of people who die or move out of state is described in detail on the voter registration cancelation procedures page.

Following the 2020 general election, lists began circulating with thousands of names of people who allegedly had votes cast in their name who were dead. However, these claims have been disproven by numerous election officials, independent journalists, the State Senate Oversight Committee and the state Auditor General.