LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – While Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office is celebrating a state oversight report that the department says indicates the state’s voter rolls are “more accurate than ever,” that does not appear to be the full story.

“Limited in scope”

An audit from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) reviewed the processes and procedures used to update the voter rolls, not the outcome of the voter rolls themselves. According to the OAG report, “Our examination is limited in scope and, although accurate to the best of our knowledge, it is not intended to provide a full performance audit completed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States.”

Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie, who Benson tasked with overseeing election procedures while she runs for governor, said the OAG report “provides even more evidence that state and local election officials are going above and beyond to ensure Michigan’s voter rolls are complete, up to date, and accurate.”

Edevbie added, “Our department has invested significant resources and implemented meaningful reforms to make our system the best in the nation. We will never stop working to improve our policies and process, retaining well-earned confidence in our state’s secure, accessible elections.”

MFEI: A misrepresentation

However, the Michigan Fair Elections Institute (MFEI) is scratching the figurative ballot, calling Benson’s characterization of the report a misrepresentation.

The MFEI points to a law that requires a full performance audit conducted under Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards. MFEI officials said it is “the kind of rigorous audit that would let auditors form and state an opinion on whether the voter rolls are accurate.”

The MFEI added, “What Michigan’s Auditor General delivered was not that; it was a narrower ‘examination of selected procedures.’ The report itself says the examination is ‘not intended to provide a full performance audit’ and that no opinion is being offered on accuracy. The Auditor General also didn’t independently verify the underlying data it used.”

In addition, the MFEI is calling for a full, legally compliant audit before the Sept. 15, 2026, deadline.

Michigan’s Qualified Voter File (QVF) is a statewide database of more than 8.3 million registered voters, according to the state’s voter registration statistics.

The U.S. Department of Justice sent federal workers to East Lansing, Lansing and Detroit to monitor polling locations during the Aug. 4 primary election.