Thursday marked the first day of absentee voting in Michigan’s general election. A few local election officials used the occasion to reassure residents about the safety and security of voting.
That’s as President Donald Trump and some of his allies continue to push lies about the 2020 presidential election being stolen, despite dozens of audits proving it was not.
Grand Rapids City Clerk Joel Hondorp said the election disinformation is a “distraction.”
“It comes with a cost. Carrying out elections is expensive and it takes a lot of time. Yet we are having to dedicate resources to combating and correcting the false claims are often peddled by politicians,” Hondorp said Thursday during a press conference hosted by the ACLU of Michigan.
During last month’s primary election, the federal government sent observers to a handful of Michigan cities. Federal officials said it was to ensure the right procedures were being followed, although Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel questioned that motivation this week.
Two of the cities where the feds were stationed were Lansing and East Lansing. Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum said she’s not sure if the monitors are coming back for the general election.
“The intent was to make voters worry and make voters question the integrity of our elections. But truth be told, we have poll watchers all the time,” Byrum said.
Byrum and other speakers at Thursday’s press conference encouraged people to sign up to work at polling sites if they’re concerned about election integrity.
A recent poll showed a slight dip in Michiganders’ faith in elections, although most respondents still trusted in them overall.
The group Promote the Vote is among those working to restore confidence from the doubters.
Promote the Vote election protection director Mackenzie Walz said her group is encouraging people to see how they’re run.
“Go observe the public logic and accuracy tests. Get a chance to meet your clerks and see how those tabulators are programmed and operate. We’ve also been encouraging folks to attend their local county board of canvasser meetings,” Walz said.
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