LANSING, Mich (Michigan News Source) – Michigan, renowned for its achievements in college football and cherry production as well as being a favorite summer destination for Americans who love the water, surprisingly holds another distinctive title as well – that of the Great Lakes state with the highest excess in its voter rolls. The title was earned in 2022 and still belongs to the state today.

Who are all of the “extra” voters who are registered?

According to Bridge Michigan, Michigan currently boasts a voter registry comprising more than 8.2 million individuals. This accounts for 102.8% of the state’s 7.9 million voting-age residents, as indicated by census data. The next closest state, Indiana, trailed behind at 90.5%.

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This statistical anomaly, a difference of 300,000 voters, is raising concerns for some, particularly among Republicans, including supporters of former President Donald Trump.

Current system seems open for manipulation and fraud.

Opponents of how the state’s voter rolls are handled argue that the inflated voter rolls create an environment conducive to fraud, enabling individuals to manipulate the system by casting ballots in the names of deceased or relocated voters.

Their concerns aren’t without merit as it appears that reports indicate that voter fraud was able to happen in Michigan during the 2020 election with a group that allegedly had submitted thousands of fraudulent voter registration applications.

Michigan Bureau of Elections Director Jonathan Brater, however, asserts that the elevated numbers are a result of legal requirements at both state and federal levels.

Laws and regulations dictate slow removal of ineligible voters.

He says stringent regulations dictate an extended period before inactive voters can be purged from the rolls. Additionally, when a voter passes away, officials must meticulously verify the information before initiating the removal process.

Brater emphasizes the state’s adherence to existing laws and regulations, and underscores the need for careful consideration and confirmation before any removals are done.

State is more worried about people trying to fraudulently kick people off voter rolls.

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Brater spoke with reporters last week and seemed more concerned about people trying to boot eligible voters off the rolls than he did about people taking advantage of the incorrect voter rolls for nefarious purposes.

Brater said, “We’re certainly going to be monitoring any activity in the voter file that looks unusual to make sure that there aren’t any undue challenges that are being processed without the voter getting their legally entitled protections.”

Cancellations coming but not in time for this year’s elections.

Michigan has formulated plans to address the issue by canceling registrations for over 533,000 voters by 2025 and an additional 94,036 slated for cancellation in 2027. However, that means it won’t be happening in time for the very important elections this November.

Whether these measures will assuage concerns is doubtful. Notably, a recent federal court decision dismissed a lawsuit against Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, alleging that she’s not taking sufficient action to cancel the registrations of deceased voters.

Court: The amount of dead voters still on the rolls is at an acceptable level.

The court’s decision said that the state’s planned cancellations align with legal requirements. In essence, what was said is that Michigan’s top ranking in bloated voter rolls is not a result of negligence but rather a consequence of meticulous adherence to regulations.

The lawsuit comes from the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) who had identified 27,000 “potentially deceased voters” on the Michigan voter rolls. The judge said in her opinion, “Even if all the voters on PILF’s list were actually deceased, that number of deceased voters would simply not be unreasonable in a state the size of Michigan.”

So how much ineptness and a lack of voting integrity is acceptable? As much as our Secretary of State and friendly Democrat judges will allow.