By Fred Woodward | November 11, 2024
Recently, the New York Times wrote a piece on the Election Integrity movement, with the apparent intention of discrediting it. In the piece, the authors claimed that we at the Michigan Fair Elections Institute “wrote and distributed a guidebook for county canvass board members that suggests they can conduct investigations before voting to certify.”
The actual situation, though, differs substantially. Our intent in writing Responsibilities and Roles of County Boards of Canvassers was to make the relevant provisions of MCL 168 accessible to local canvassers and clerks. We did this by summarizing these provisions into plain English, and distributing this guide to every canvasser we were able to contact.
Our intent was not, however, to suggest non-topical courses of action for canvassers, clerks, or elected officials. Our mission, as a 501(c)3 organization, is to educate the public and elected officials. That was what prompted us to author this work, citing only the law as it currently stands, and not offering suggestions on how it should be interpreted.
In the interests of clarity, the relevant portions of MCL 168 concerning what county boards of canvassers may do before certifying an election are cited below, so that each reader may judge for himself what the law says, and how it should be applied.
As a final note, it would seem that the Times has, in publishing the previous assertions, demonstrated an important fact: The laws that govern us and our electoral procedures are of critical importance to us as citizens. We at the Michigan Fair Elections Institute are committed to always ensuring that the important laws governing our sacred elections are known, respected and followed.
Audemus Jura Nostra Defendere: “We dare to defend our rights!”
Relevant MCL Citations:
(MCL 168.823) Board of county canvassers; power to summon and open ballot boxes; correction of errors; summoning of election inspectors; designation of staff to count ballots and make corrections.
(1) If it is found, upon the convening of the board of county canvassers, that the returns from any of the boards of election inspectors of the several election precincts are missing, incomplete, or incorrect, or for any other reason it is found necessary, then the board of county canvassers shall have power to adjourn from day to day until the returns shall have been procured or corrected.
(2) The board of county canvassers is empowered to summon the persons having the boxes containing the ballots cast at the election and the keys and seals of the boxes, or having the returns or the poll lists or tally sheets used and made at the elections, to bring the boxes, keys, seals, returns, poll lists, and tally sheets before the board of county canvassers, and the board of county canvassers is authorized to open the boxes and take any books or papers bearing upon the count and return of the election inspectors of the election precincts, but the board of county canvassers shall not remove or mark the ballots.
(3) The board of county canvassers shall correct obvious mathematical errors in the tallies and returns. The board of county canvassers may, if necessary for a proper determination, summon the election inspectors before them, and require them to count any ballots that the election inspectors failed to count, to make correct returns in case, in the judgment of the board of county canvassers after examining the returns, poll lists, or tally sheets, the returns already made are incorrect or incomplete, and the board of county canvassers shall canvass the votes from the corrected returns. In the alternative to summoning the election inspectors before them, the board of county canvassers may designate staff members from the county clerk's office to count any ballots that the election inspectors failed to count, to make correct returns in case, in the judgment of the board of county canvassers after examining the returns, poll lists, or tally sheets, the returns already made are incorrect or incomplete, and the board of county canvassers shall canvass the votes from the corrected returns. When the examination of the papers is completed, or the ballots have been counted, they shall be returned to the ballot boxes or delivered to the persons entitled by law to their custody, and the boxes shall be locked and sealed and delivered to the legal custodians.
(MCL 168.872) Board of canvassers; investigation, report to prosecutor and circuit judge.
Whenever a petition has been filed for a recount by any person conceiving himself aggrieved on account of any fraud, wrongdoing or violation of the law perpetrated or committed by any election inspector or inspectors or any other person in respect to said election for which said recount has been petitioned, in any primary or election, and it shall appear to the board of canvassers having jurisdiction over said recount that there is probably cause to believe that there has been fraud, wrongdoing or a violation of the law in respect to said election for which said recount has been petitioned, the said canvassers shall make full and complete investigation of the same. Said canvassers shall have full power and authority to subpoena witnesses and to open any ballot box, regardless of the condition in which the same may be found, and may break open, if sealed, the seal thereon and examine the ballots contained therein. If, after the investigation, said board has good reason to believe that any fraud, wrongdoing or a violation of the law has been committed in respect to said election, then said board of canvassers shall forthwith make a written report of their findings to the prosecuting attorney and to the circuit judge or judges of the county where the petitioner resides if it be a county, city, township or village election, and to the attorney general and to the circuit judge of the county of Ingham if it be a district or state election. Said reports shall be signed by each of the canvassers having jurisdiction of said recount, or a majority thereof. Pending the making of such report, the board of canvassers having jurisdiction of such recount shall carefully preserve and safeguard the ballot boxes and the ballots contained therein until an order of the court, to which said report was submitted, is made authorizing the disposition of the same. Any action taken in such investigation shall not preclude any official recount of the ballots cast at any such election, if otherwise allowed by the general election laws. The powers of investigation referred to in this section shall terminate with the completion of the recount.
(MCL 168.861) Fraudulent or illegal voting, or tampering with ballots or ballot boxes; remedy by quo warranto.
For fraudulent or illegal voting, or tampering with the ballots or ballot boxes before a recount by the board of county canvassers, the remedy by quo warranto shall remain in full force, together with any other remedies now existing.
Frederick Woodward is Director of Research at Politylitics, and an analyst at Michigan Fair Elections Institute.
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