Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Signs New Bill Restricting Election Recounts

This week, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation that alters how election recounts are conducted in the state. The new laws prohibit county canvassers from investigating allegations of fraud.

The text of Senate Bill 603 changes provisions around election recounts, and it states that a recount will not be an “investigation or an audit of the conduct of an election” and will not determine “the qualifications of electors participating in an election or the manner in which ballots are applied for or issued to electors.”

The recount process will be initiated in Michigan for precincts that show an “imbalance between the ballots collected and ballots issued as long as they provide a satisfactory explanation and a sworn affidavit in a form prescribed by the Secretary of State,” according to Ms. Whitmer’s office in a news release.

It will also raise the state’s recount filing fees to cover “the costs of conducting a recount,” according to her office.

The law also mandates that a recount must be requested within 48 hours of the votes being certified by a board of canvassers. Additionally, it compels the board of canvassers to “deny” a petition to “conduct an investigation or an audit of the conduct of an election” or asks them to assess the qualifications of electors or a petition for anything other than a recount.

The board must refer the matter to the county prosecutor or Michigan’s attorney general’s office for prosecution.

“The bill defines a recount as an administrative process to determine votes cast for a candidate or ballot question. It makes clear that a recount is not an audit or investigation,” the sponsor of the measure, Michigan state Rep. Stephanie Chang, a Democrat, said in May. “As we all know from four years ago, those words are not interchangeable and this clarification of the law is important to minimize confusion among voters.”

Senate Bill 604 aims to revise sentencing guidelines for specific election-related violations in Michigan, particularly those related to recount infractions.

“These bipartisan bills address a range of issues that will build a stronger future for our communities,” said Ms. Whitmer in the news release after she signed the two measures into law.

She said the two laws will bolster “fair and free elections that make sure the winner can take office without unnecessary interference,” according to the release.

Before the recount bill passed, the House Committee on Elections conducted an analysis revealing that in 2016, Green Party candidate Jill Stein requested a ballot recount in Michigan despite receiving approximately 1.07 percent of the vote in that election.

It also made note of two petitions filed in the 2022 midterms that requested statewide recounts of two proposals over voter fraud allegations, although “neither petition requested a recount of enough votes to impact the results” and the recount cost was “higher than the collected deposit.”

The analysis made no reference to the 2020 election, which underwent a statewide audit and a hand recount.

Several Republican lawmakers in the state House opposed the two election measures. Some argued that these laws could undermine voters’ trust in the accuracy of statewide elections. Others opposed the removal of the board of canvassers’ authority to conduct audits, suggesting it would make investigating allegations of voter fraud more difficult.

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