Originally published in Detroit News.
Michigan is a leader when it comes to elections that are accurate, transparent and fair. We have strong safeguards in place and many clerks go beyond existing law to make our elections even more safe and secure.
Unfortunately, voters in the state are often unaware of what current law requires or the best practices that our local elections officials already implement at the state, county and local levels. Without this knowledge, voters are more susceptible to misinformation and disinformation that erodes public confidence in our elections.
As the bipartisan board members of the Democracy Defense Project in Michigan, we are committed to helping address this challenge and boost voters’ faith in our elections. In our combined 90-plus years of experience in public and elected office, we have never seen so many voters from different political backgrounds express skepticism and concern about our sacred institutions, with some going as far as refusing to accept election results. We want to change that.
But we will need everyone’s help to make it happen.
Unfortunately, voters in the state are often unaware of what current law requires or the best practices that our local elections officials already implement at the state, county and local levels., the authors write.
A poll our organization commissioned found the best way to help increase Michigan voters’ confidence in our elections and push back against misinformation is to fully inform them of the safeguards that are now in place.
Our poll found that while 77% of Michigan voters said they trusted election results, that number skyrocketed when voters learned about 12 election safeguards that are either customary practice or already required by state law.
Individually, the implementation of each of those measures was enough to improve voter confidence. But when all the measures were implemented as a package, voter confidence soared to 94.5%. And of the voters who initially said they had no confidence in the elections, four in five of them said the implementation of the measures would give them confidence in the elections.
Six of the election measures are already state law:
- Requiring every voting machine used to be tested prior to every election to ensure the machine is operating correctly and reporting the correct results.
- Requiring all absentee ballot drop boxes be monitored by video and that authorized clerk personnel collect any ballots daily.
- Requiring the signature on absentee ballots matches the signature in the official voting book before it can be counted.
- Requiring every in-person voter in Michigan to present identification before casting a ballot or if they forget their ID, requiring them to sign a legal affidavit attesting to who they are.
- Not allowing ballots to be counted that are postmarked after election day unless they are military or overseas ballots.
- Requiring that Republican, Democratic and other voter interest groups be allowed to assign credentialed people to each polling location and absentee counting board to monitor the voting processes and challenge any irregularities.
The remaining six measures are best practices and are in widespread use across the state:
- Requiring all paper ballots to be stored in locked facilities with a documented chain of custody to ensure and confirm that they are secure and to prevent tampering.
- Ensuring that no voting machines are connected to the internet so they cannot be accessed or hacked.
- Requiring that for close results, ballots are both machine-counted and then hand-counted to verify their accuracy.
- Requiring city and township clerks to update their voter rolls and remove all inactive or incorrect registrations on a regular basis.
- Requiring that the number of ballots issued balances with the number of absentee ballots and in-person votes cast.
- Requiring state election officials to use multi-state databases to check for duplicate voters’ registration in multiple states.
The poll showed most Michiganians did not know most of the measures were already policy or law. Just 62% said they were aware of voter ID requirements and only 56% were aware that voting machines must be tested before elections.
By raising awareness about what are already common practices among elections officials, we can also raise voter confidence in our elections and beat back disinformation.
As a bipartisan board, we are partnering with Republican and Democratic County clerks to share the facts. Elections officials from both parties are welcoming members of the public to see for themselves how ballots are counted, how tabulator machines work and how results are tallied. They are urging residents to get involved locally and get informed. We can support their work and the thousands of poll workers and volunteers in our community by helping spread the word about important election safeguards that are already in practice in Michigan.
By working together and focusing on public education, we can increase public confidence in our elections and protect our democracy in this election and for future generations.
John Engler, Jim Blanchard, Mike Bishop and John Cherry are board members of Democracy Defense Project.
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Published: Nov 5, 2024
