Michigan Election Security Safeguards

Every state has laws and rules that protect the integrity of the election process before, during, and after voting takes place. Here are some of Michigan’s key safeguards.

Michigan has rigorous checks in place to maintain clean voter rolls and ensure that voting systems are secure and accurate. 

• As an initial protection against ineligible registrations, federal law requires that registrants provide their driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number when registering to vote for the first time.
• Federal law requires election officials to remove anyone from the voter rolls who has died, moved, or otherwise become ineligible. In Michigan, if election mail sent to the voter is returned undeliverable or the state receives information that a voter has moved to another state, election officials designate voters as inactive and send notices of cancellation to voters. If the voter does not vote or contact officials for another two general elections, they will be removed from the rolls. State law also requires election officials to review lists of people who have died in their jurisdiction each month and remove deceased voters from rolls.
• All voting systems in Michigan are tested by independent labs to check that they meet security standards.
• Election officials must perform logic and accuracy tests on all voting systems and allow the public to observe and participate in the tests. Logic and accuracy tests verify that voting systems are programmed to interpret voter markings and report vote totals accurately, before any voter casts a ballot.

Michigan has layers of safeguards to protect voting processes and ensure that only eligible voters can cast ballots.

• There is a paper record of every vote cast. Most voters hand-mark paper ballots, whether voting in person or by mail. Polling places also offer accessible voting systems with verifiable paper records for voters with disabilities.
• Michigan state law requires bipartisan teams of poll workers to oversee voting processes and count votes.
• All mail ballot envelopes must contain the voter’s signature. Under Michigan state law, election officials must compare the signature to the one on file for that voter. 
• If a signature is missing or does not match the signature listed on file, election officials must promptly notify the voter and allow the voter an opportunity to cure the issue. A voter must cure their ballot by no later than 5 p.m. the Friday after Election Day.
• Voters can track their mail ballot and receive notifications when their mail ballot is sent and received by the election office.

Michigan’s safeguards do not end on election night. In the weeks after polls close, election officials go through a series of checks to confirm that vote totals are complete and accurate before certifying final results.

• When polls close, Michigan requires bipartisan teams of poll workers to print and sign results reports from each tabulator, showing the number of ballots cast and results.
• After ballots are initially counted, election officials review and reconcile a variety of records, including tabulator results tapes and polling place records that show the number of voters who checked in and number of ballots issued. 
• Michigan requires a hand count audit of a sample of ballots to confirm the accuracy of tabulators. The process must be open to observation from the two political parties with the most registered voters.