5 things to know about recount of Michigan ballot proposals

Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press
·3 min read
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Despite winning by large margins, two ballot proposals adopted by Michigan voters will undergo recounts across Michigan. In some counties targeted by the recounts, a hand count of the ballots begins Wednesday.

The recounts involve Proposal 2 to establish early voting in Michigan and other election changes, which passed with nearly 60% of the vote, and Proposal 3 to enshrine abortion rights in the Michigan Constitution, which received nearly 57% of the vote.

Here's what to know about those supporting the recounts, what they entail and where they'll take place.

More:Michigan taxpayers to help foot bill for Proposals 2, 3 recounts that won't change outcome

More:Michigan elections panel rebuffs calls from losing candidates not to certify election

Recounts backed by groups that deny legitimacy of 2020 election

The recounts were requested by Jerome Jay Allen who is affiliated with the Election Integrity Force, according to lawyer Daniel Hartman who represented Allen at a meeting to approve the recounts Monday.

The group filed a lawsuit to decertify the 2020 election earlier this year. In a statement posted on Facebook, Election Integrity Force thanked the America Project for covering the cost of filing for the recount. The America Project is led by allies of former President Donald Trump who have championed Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

Recount won't change results

Proposal 2 passed by a margin exceeding 861,000 votes while Proposal 3 passed by margin exceeding 583,000 votes.

But the number of precincts requested by Allen for the recounts does not include enough votes to change the election outcome of either proposal, Michigan Director of Elections Jonathan Brater said during a Board of State Canvassers meeting Monday.

Recounts to cover more than half of Michigan counties

The recount of Proposal 2 includes precincts in four counties: Kalamazoo, Macomb, Muskegon and Oakland.

The recount of Proposal 3 includes precincts in 43 counties: Allegan, Antrim, Barry, Bay, Benzie, Berrien, Calhoun, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Chippewa, Clare, Clinton, Dickinson, Eaton, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Genesee, Houghton, Ingham, Ionia, Iosco, Isabella, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Kalkaska, Kent, Lapeer, Leelanau, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Marquette, Midland, Montcalm, Muskegon, Oakland, Otsego, Ottawa, Shiawassee, Van Buren, Washtenaw, Wayne and Wexford.

Taxpayers to cover some recount costs

County clerks told the Free Press that the costs of undertaking the recounts are significant and that taxpayers will help foot the bill.

Allen must pay $125 for every precinct recounted, according to the Secretary of State's Office. But that won't cover all the costs incurred during the recounts, county clerks said.

For instance, Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum said the recount of Proposal 3 includes 31 precincts in the county, which amounts to $3,875 from Allen. But she estimates paying the 40 recount workers, four members of the county canvassing board and security along with meals will cost at least $13,000 in Ingham County.

Elections panel debated legality of recount request before allowing it to proceed

Before allowing the recounts to proceed, the Board of State Canvassers expressed reservations that the exercise might provide fodder for election conspiracists and debated whether the petitions for recounts satisfied the legal requirements to launch the expensive review.

Steve Liedel, an attorney representing the group that sponsored Proposal 3, said that the recount petition failed to assert any specific allegation that there was an error in the vote returns from election workers or the canvass from a county canvassing board as Michigan election law requires.

But Assistant Attorney General Erik Grill told the canvassers that they didn't have the authority to reject the petitions even if their claims of fraud were insufficient.

The board adopted procedures for the recount in a 3-0 vote with Democratic canvasser Jeannette Bradshaw absent from the meeting.

Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan recounts of ballot proposals underway: Here's why