Bureau of Elections Releases Detroit Election Audit Findings

Liz Gullett

Bureau of Elections Releases Detroit Election Audit Findings

Feb 10, 2017

This week, the Michigan Bureau of Elections released its audit findings for 136 Detroit precincts from the November 8, 2016 general election. The findings largely site human error, not illegal activity, resulted in mismatches between the number of ballots and recorded voters. The audit found the precinct imbalances were almost entirely caused by precinct worker mistakes, specifically:

Failing to properly use the electronic poll book, including failing to record voters when they were issued ballots, or when a ballot was spoiled and a voter was issued a new one.
Leaving counted ballots in the tabulator bin at the end of the night instead of placing all ballots in a sealed container.
Incorrectly recording or issuing provisional envelope ballots, which are used when a person doesn’t appear on the precinct’s voter list and needs to provide identification or proof of residency.

To correct the problems identified in the audit, Bureau of Elections’ staff intends to work with city officials to train election day precinct workers beginning with the August 8 city primary election.

To read the full audit findings, please click here.

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