NEW: Swing State Democrats Caught Making Sketchy Election-Related Move

Election integrity concerns have resurfaced in Michigan after the Michigan Bureau of Elections (BOE), under the direction of the state’s Democratic Secretary of State, made a sudden and controversial change to its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosure policy. The BOE has restricted access to crucial absentee ballot data, a move that election integrity groups say will undermine transparency and accountability in the upcoming 2024 elections.

On Tuesday, the BOE informed organizations that typically monitor absentee voter data, such as CheckMyVote.org and Michigan Fair Elections, that key data points critical for election monitoring and audits would no longer be available under FOIA requests. These data fields include information about absentee ballot applications sent and received, as well as data on ballots returned by voters. Critics argue that the change eliminates essential transparency, further complicating the ability to verify the integrity of the voting process  according to Pure Integrity Michigan Elections.

Election integrity groups, especially in a critical swing state like Michigan, have expressed their alarm, questioning the motivation behind the sudden decision. “I don’t see the reasoning behind these changes. The BOE cites voter privacy as the reason, but the date the application is sent and returned has nothing to do with voter privacy,” said Phani Mantravadi, CEO of Check My Vote. Mantravadi said that removing these data fields limits the ability of watchdog organizations to track whether ballots were properly sent, received, and returned. Without this information, it becomes nearly impossible to verify the authenticity of the absentee voting process.

Patrice Johnson, chair of Michigan Fair Elections, highlighted a particular risk with absentee ballot address changes. Voters in Michigan can change the address where their absentee ballot is mailed without this information being publicly available, creating a potential loophole for election fraud. “A citizen’s vote could hypothetically be stolen simply by redirecting the ballot to be delivered elsewhere. When the voter goes to the polling place, they could be told they can’t vote because they’ve already cast an absentee ballot,” Johnson warned. Johnson’s concerns focus on the complete lack of data that would allow election integrity groups to verify whether ballots are being sent to legitimate voters or nefariously redirected.

The move by the BOE has not gone unnoticed by political figures and grassroots organizations working on election integrity initiatives. Michigan’s District 9 GOP, along with grassroots organizers, reacted strongly to the BOE’s announcement. Phil O’Halloran, the Election Integrity Chair for District 9, compared the BOE’s new policy to controversial actions during the 2020 election in Detroit, saying it’s the “digital equivalent of plastering pizza boxes on the windows at the TCF Center.” O’Halloran referenced the infamous 2020 incident where transparency concerns were raised about the handling of absentee ballots during vote counting.

The timing of this policy change has raised further eyebrows, with the 2024 election just weeks away. Many believe this move is part of a strategy to reduce oversight of the absentee ballot process, making it harder for groups focused on election integrity to monitor election processes in real-time. These groups rely heavily on absentee ballot data for tracking and ensuring that only legitimate votes are cast. Without this data, watchdog organizations will face significant barriers in verifying the accuracy of election rolls and absentee ballot returns.

In response, election integrity groups in Michigan are planning legal challenges, seeking clarification from lawmakers, and raising public awareness of the issue. As Michigan remains a critical battleground state in national elections, the BOE’s decision is likely to remain a flashpoint in discussions about election security leading up to the election.

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