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Please Note: We share this information with the hope that it aids pro-democracy activists by highlighting specific process points to monitor for any subversive efforts. Due to the sensitivity of this information and the potential for it to be exploited by bad actors, this page and the links within it should not be shared outside of the pro-democracy community.

If you have any questions or feedback on these identified vulnerabilities, please contact us at info[at]informingdemocracy[dot]org

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Overview

Michigan’s canvassing and certification processes have a strong statutory foundation, as well as clear guidance from the Secretary of State’s Election Officials’ Manual. State law provides a number of safeguards against those seeking to undermine or delay election results, including the uncommon power of the Board of State Canvassers to step in and certify county results if a Board of County Canvassers refuses to act. Recent updates to state law have strengthened election integrity, including an amendment to the state constitution in 2022 that made it explicit that the certification of elections is a ministerial duty and legislation in 2024 to narrow the circumstances in which a recount may be requested. In addition, the current Secretary of State has shown a willingness to use the office’s powers of oversight and enforcement when election officials have refused to comply with the law.

Indeed, because the law itself is strong, many of the election vulnerabilities in Michigan are created and sustained by bad faith actors violating settled law. After 2020, Michigan remains a target for those seeking to perpetuate election conspiracies, and as a result, the state’s elections remain vulnerable to the threats posed by such conspiracies.

Informing Democracy reviewed members of Michigan’s 407 Boards of Canvassers and County Clerks to identify individuals who could pose a threat to free and fair elections. We looked for statements or actions that indicated election denial, attempts to subvert election administration or undermine the faith in the system, sharing election conspiracy theories, and other anti-democratic sentiment.

Of the 407 whose news mentions, social media, and official actions were reviewed, 51 had findings that raised concern—more than 12%.

Refusal to Certify by Boards of County Canvassers

Nationwide, there is a growing concern that state election officials will attempt to refuse to carry out their responsibilities to certify the election results. As we head into the November 2024 election, concerns over the potential that election officials will refuse to certify the presidential election have grown. Indeed, fights over certification have already occurred this year in battleground states, including Michigan.

During the 2020 presidential election, the Board of County Canvassers in Wayne County initially was deadlocked 2-2 along party lines in the vote to certify the election, causing widespread confusion. The Board of County Canvassers eventually reversed course and unanimously certified the results. However, had the Board of County Canvassers failed to certify, the ballots of more than 800,000 voters could have been jeopardized.

The threat has reemerged in the 2024 election cycle in Michigan. In May 2024, two members of the Board of County Canvassers in Delta County voted against certifying recall election results, citing, without evidence, irregularities in the vote totals. In response, the Secretary of State’s office sent a letter to the Board of County Canvassers directing them to complete their legal duty to certify. After receipt of the letter, the Board of County Canvassers reversed course and certified the election. Following this incident, the two members of the Board of County Canvassers who had refused to certify resigned from their positions. No current members of County Boards of Canvassers were identified as having voted against certification.

Fortunately, Michigan law makes it unlikely that a county election official will be successful in thwarting the certification of an election. Certification is a mandatory “ministerial” duty, meaning that election officials have no discretion in the decision to certify. In the event that an election official refuses to certify election results, Michigan law has several built-in enforcement provisions to safeguard the process. For example, if a Board of County Canvassers fails to certify results within a certain time period, the Board of State Canvassers is required to step in to complete certification. The Secretary of State’s recent letter to the Board of County Canvassers in Delta County clearly outlined these protections and made it clear that the current Secretary of State stands ready to protect the certification process.

Two canvassers expressed their willingness to not certify the November election under certain conditions. However, both walked back those comments later, one only after legal action. However, given the increasing prevalence of votes against certifying election results in other states, it is possible other individual canvassers will still attempt to oppose certification.

Counties of Concern

Looking forward, in Michigan’s 11 counties, multiple individuals of concern were identified on Boards of Canvassers, representing the possibility of deadlocked certification votes. Those counties present a potential vulnerability in the vote certification process in November.

• Wayne County: Robert Boyd, a member of Wayne County’s Board of Canvassers, denied the outcome of the 2020 election and said he would not have certified the election if he had been a canvasser at the time (though in 2022 acknowledged that canvassers could not overturn results and said he would follow the rules). His counterpart on the Board of Canvassers, Katherine Riley, was also an election denier and even led trainings for the Election Integrity Network in Michigan.
• Alcona County: Jeffrey Dobbs and Jaynee Germond, members of the Alcona County Board of Canvassers, are both election deniers and platformed election conspiracy theories. Dobbs claimed that Joe Biden did not receive 81 million votes and that voting machines used in the 2020 election were connected to the internet and “a Democrat operative ran Greenbay’s [sic] election from his Hyatt Regency hotel room.” Germond claimed Trump did not lose the 2020 election and claimed that dead people voted.
• Allegan County: Steven McNeal, Allegan County’s Clerk, platformed election conspiracy theories on his social media. He wrote that “the obvious goal of a partisan impeachment is to steal two elections from the American people.” He also claimed that Monkeypox was “the liberal’s latest transparent attempt to cheat the November elections.” Robert Genetski, a member of the Allegan County Board of Canvassers, wrote on social media after watching election conspiracy film "2000 Mules" that “exposing and ending corrupt elections is the single most important thing we can do to save our democracy.” Genetski also shared a story from The Epoch Times claiming that “CIA Directors Altered Election.”
• Bay County: Tracey Armstrong and Ann Weiler, members of the Bay County Board of Canvassers, both denied the results of the 2020 election. Armstrong shared a claim that Biden “rigged the 2020 election” and “got caught” and cast doubt on elections in Arizona because there was a “95 mile long Trump parade in Maricopa County just before they voted Democrat for the first time in over 70 years.” Weiler posted an image that read, “ignoring evidence of election fraud because the election is already over is like ignoring a murder because the victim is already dead.” She also endorsed Matt Sealy, a plaintiff in Trump’s federal lawsuit to block Michigan’s election results in 2020.
• Benzie County: County Board of Canvassers member Maurenn Jeannot defended Rep. Jack Bergman’s efforts to overturn election results in 2020, claiming he “stood up for election integrity.” She later claimed, “I fear that if we don’t elect people like Jack Bergman, we won’t have a country left to salvage by 2024.” Gielczyk compared the “Big Lie” to claims made by Hillary Clinton and Stacey Abrams in the wake of electoral losses and argued that expanded mail-in voting would lead to increased fraud. He also endorsed Rep. Bergman for reelection.