Huntington Place Absentee Counting Board, circa Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018 election. Source unknown.
By MFE Volunteer Contributor | September 4, 2024
A Michigan township clerk who asked to remain anonymous recently voiced concerns about the City of Detroit's repeated violations of Michigan election law, specifically regarding the lack of parity in the appointment of election workers from the two major political parties.
(https://www.mifairelections.org/post/election-worker-disparity-in-detroit-s-august-primary-a-call-for-fair-representation)
In an email sent to the clerk’s state senator and representative, the clerk highlighted what he sees as a systemic issue in Detroit, which he believes undermines the integrity of the election process and the confidence that Michigan voters may have in the election process.
“The more clerks we get to contact their state senator and representative with a concern, the better, and this needs to happen soon since the deadline to approve election workers is in mid October,” the clerk said in a conversation with Pure Integrity Michigan Elections (PIME).
According to Michigan Compiled Law (MCL) 168.674, municipalities are required to appoint an equal number of election inspectors from each major political party, ensuring that no single party has undue influence over the election process. However, recent news articles point out that Detroit has consistently failed to meet this requirement. He referenced reports indicating that 83% of Detroit’s election workers were Democrats, while only 11% were Republicans.
"You may hear an argument that there just aren’t enough Republican workers applying, but the Republican party provided Detroit with a list of 676 candidates to work the election. Detroit hired only 52 of them, so this is not a legitimate argument,” the clerk wrote in his email to state officials.
The clerk also raised this issue in a messaging forum available through the Michigan Township Association to get thoughts from other clerks across the state. “I provided the link to the story, told them my concerns, and asked for input from other clerks,” he explained to PIME.
The responses he received surprised him. “Many clerks acknowledged the difficulty of recruiting election workers, particularly from the Republican party,” he said. “This was surprising to me. If the sample size I saw reflects what is going on across the state, it’s another example that shows that conservatives need to participate in the process at a higher rate if they care about the outcome of elections”. Becoming an election worker is easy. Go see your local clerk. They will give you a form to fill out and get you trained. That’s all there is to it.
In his letter to legislators in Lansing, the clerk concluded with a warning about the potential consequences if the parity issue remains unaddressed, saying, “It’s important to ensure that election laws are upheld, so that all Michigan voters can maintain confidence in the fairness of the election process.” If certain municipalities are allowed to habitually violate election law, confidence in the election process will continue to erode.
He encouraged clerks and readers to email their representatives and senators, and he provided a sample that could be used as a thought starter for anyone who might be interested:
Dear [Representative or Senator _____________],
In case you are unaware, the City of Detroit has a habitual problem with violating Michigan Election Law, specifically MCL 168.674 which requires municipalities to have political party parity among their election inspectors. The Michigan Complied Law reads as follows:
“The board of election commissioners shall appoint at least 1 election inspector from each major political party and shall appoint an equal number, as nearly as possible, of election inspectors in each election precinct from each major political party.”
According to reports in the following articles, 83% of election workers in Detroit were Democrats, while only 11% were Republicans.
You may hear an argument that “there just aren’t enough Republican workers applying,” but the Republican party provided Detroit with a list of 676 candidates to work the election. Detroit hired only 52 of them, so this is not a legitimate argument.
This is also not new for Detroit. The city has a track record of violating election law in this way and has done so for the last several election cycles (details are available in the articles).
You may ask why you or I should care about what happens in Detroit or Wayne County. Voters in my Township, and in your district have to have confidence in our election process, or they won’t vote. They see these election law violations happening and worse: Too little is being done to address these violations. If you look at the viewer comments at the end of the FOX news link, you can see the conspiracy theorists going on about cheating in elections.
How do I, as a Municipal Clerk in your district, assure my voters that elections are fair and that their vote isn’t wasted when certain municipalities (some of the largest municipalities in our state, with the greatest influence on election outcome) habitually violate election law while our State’s legal system does nothing to correct the violations?
Respectfully,
[Your name]
Learn how We The People can win back and secure OUR Future.
Join us Thursday, September 5, at 12 PM for
the weekly Coalition Task Force Meeting
To attend this meeting, use the Registration link below . It changes weekly.
After registering, you will receive an email with details on how to join the meeting.
Note: Representatives of the media are allowed in our meetings only with prior permission.
Important Notes and Disclaimers for Election Integrity Network National Working Groups and coalition calls
We operate under strict 501 (c)(4) non-profit, non-partisan guidelines. Please do not make any comments during the call or in the chat that are directly related to any campaign or candidate running for office or could be considered an endorsement or opposition of that candidate.
All calls are “off the record.” This means that no members of the media are allowed on our calls without permission and this rule also applies to participants. No comment or presentation can be shared outside of the call without the express permission of the speaker. This includes the call "Notes" available to our participants.
We always welcome new participants but ask that all newcomers register with their own registration link. Please do not forward your personal link to another participant.
For the security of the call, if you join by phone, you may be asked to unmute and provide your name.
This meeting is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice or instruction to lobby on behalf of any issue or organization.
Please donate to Michigan Fair Elections
MFE is a fiercely independent, tax-exempt 501(c)3 charity. We rely on voluntary contributions to fund our important, and sometimes costly, work. Legal claims are sometimes essential to improve the government and protect citizen rights, and they can be expensive. MFE accepts no government funding.
Please support MFE's investigative research, honest journalism, and litigative actions to defend We the People's inalienable rights as protected in the U.S. Constitution. Donate today to assist our educational efforts to protect the principles of individual liberty in America.
Mark your calendars to attend Election Integrity Network's outstanding national working groups. Consider also serving as liaison to report to the Task Force Coalition's Thursday meetings.
Below is the current schedule for National Working Groups. A link to the full National Working Group Calendar is HERE (All meetings are noted in Eastern time.)
Wednesday, September 4
Thursday, September 5
Click on the monthly NWG Calendar to register and join any meeting.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the authors and do not reflect the official position of the MFE organization. Every article written by an MFE author is generated by the author or editor alone. Links embedded within the article, however, may have been generated by artificial intelligence.
Comments