Michigan has 500,000 ‘excess voters’
BY PETER KOBS
pkobs@record-eagle.com
TRAVERSE CITY — Michigan has a problem with “excess voters” — almost half a million of them.
According to a study by Bridge Michigan, the Secretary of States of cial database lists nearly 500,000 more registered voters than there are people eligible to vote.
With just 16 days until the Nov. 5 general election, “Michigan has one of the most
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bloated voter rolls in the nation,” the report states.
Michigan is a key battleground state in this year’s presidential election and may well determine the outcome, so the excess voter issue is raising concerns — and it’s prompting lawsuits.
State officials are saying the “excess voter issue” is not a threat to election integrity, and that they’re working to remove 600,000 names from the list by 2027.
The Secretary of State’s database currently lists 8.4 million registered voters.
According to the Bridge Michigan analysis, many of the counties with the highest imbalances are in northern Michigan. Senior citizens also play a role in the controversy.
“Michigan’s voter rolls (currently) include the names of 16,666 people who were born in 1924 or earlier, the report said. “But in 2024, only 1,121 of those people voted.”
GOP LAWSUIT
Many Republican officials aren’t buying the state’s explanation for the half-million “excess voters.”
Earlier this year, the Republican National Committee sued Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in federal court. The lawsuit claims 76 of Michigan’s 83 counties have “rates of voter registration” that are “suspiciously high.”
The GOP lawsuit did not allege fraud, but the situation may increase the opportunity for fraud, according to the Bridge Michigan report.
A similar GOP lawsuit in 2020 was dismissed after thousands of names were removed from the rolls. Several other, related lawsuits against the Secretary of State also are pending.
In response, Benson called the effort a “PR campaign masquerading as a meritless lawsuit.” She also said the legal complaints “are part of an effort to sow distrust of elections.”
Benson’s spokesperson, Angela Benander, said the lawsuits “lay the groundwork to overturn the results of the election if they don’t like them.”
RESTRAINTS ON VOTER ‘PURGES’
Michigan law restricts preelection challenges to prevent abuse, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
For example, challenges must be submitted in a sworn, notarized statement, an affidavit, one voter at at time. If the information that’s provided appears valid, the local clerk must mail a notice to the challenged voter, who then has 30 days to respond.
For challenges based on an alleged change of address, the clerk generally must wait two federal election cycles before canceling their registration, even if the voter does not respond to the notice.
Local clerks can remove voters from the rolls if mail to their home is returned as “undeliverable,” and if they do not vote in two consecutive federal elections, according to Sam Gedman, chief deputy clerk of Grand Traverse County.
Voters also can be removed if the state Bureau of Elections notifies clerks that someone has moved to another state.
Several other restrictions apply to challenges on Election Day, which are designed to prevent voter intimidation at polling places.
MOTOR-VOTER LAW
Starting in 1975, Michigan’s so-called “motor-voter law” automatically adds most residents to the state’s voter registration database when they register for a driver’s license.
Once they’re on the voter rolls, it’s hard to get them off, according to Chris Thomas, a retired state elections official for four secretaries of state.
But voter fraud is quite rare, Thomas said, partly because fraudsters have to purposely falsify a signature at polling locations or on an absentee ballot.
However, fraud is alleged and does happen. Earlier this fall, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged four St. Clair Shores voters with voting twice in the August primary.
A LOCAL PERSPECTIVE
Rob Hentschel, who chairs the county board, said he recently received election mail addressed to someone who hasn’t lived at that address for five years. Other family members have faced similar situations, he added.
“I hate to criticize when I don’t have a solution,” Hentschel said, “but a solution should be sought.”
“I love the fact that we have 50 states,” he said. “We should find a state that does it well and copy them – same strategy for dealing with housing, homelessness and drug rehabilitation.”
The current half-million “surplus” of voters in the Secretary of State’s database is “certainly dangerous to public perception and trust in our democratic system,” he added.
