ELECTIONS RUN BY LOCAL CLERKS
City and township clerks keep your voter rolls, run your polling places, and administer every federal, state, county, and local election.
Mich. Const. art. VII, §§ 4, 18; MCL 168.1 et seq. (e.g., MCL 168.761, 168.674).
In Michigan We Trust / Securing the Vote
How Michigan Secures the Vote
Michigan's election process is intentionally designed to be checked and verified -
by machines, by hand-count audits, and by the public.
PUBLICLY TESTED TABULATORS
Vote tabulators are tested before the election via a Logic and Accuracy Test that you can watch in person. The test occurs before the election starts, and is open to the public.
MCL 168.798.
POLLS OPEN TO OBSERVERS
Any member of the public not running for office can informally observe voting without disrupting the process.
Mich. Bureau of Elections, The Appointment, Rights, and Duties of Election Challengers and Poll Watchers; MCL 168.744.
COUNT OPEN TO ELECTION CHALLENGERS
Formally appointed observers from political parties or organizations can inspect, challenge, and count-watch.
MCL 168.730–168.734.
BOTH PARTIES COUNT THE VOTE
From the moment polls close to the final certification, every count, seal, and certification requires representatives from both parties, together.
Mich. Const. art. II, § 7(2); MCL 168.22, 168.24c, 168.674(2), 168.679a(2), 168.765a(8), 168.823(2).
BALLOT COUNT DOUBLE CHECKS
After every statewide election, Michigan hand-counts a random sample of ballots and compares them to tabulator totals. Officials from both parties roll dice on a livestream to randomly select which ballots get checked — a public, tamper-proof way to prove the sample wasn’t rigged. In 2024, the ballot audit covered 166 randomly selected precincts, with 119,567 ballots hand-counted.
Constitutional right in Michigan
Mich. Const. art. II, § 4(1)(l) (Props 18-3, 22-2); MCL 168.31a; Mich. Bureau of Elections Post-Election Audit Manual; Nov. 2024 Post-Election Audit Report.
ELECTION PROCEDURE DOUBLE CHECKS
After every statewide election, election officials, not political parties, audit at least one race in randomly selected precincts, checking whether every procedure was followed correctly. 378 precincts were checked in 2024.
MCL 168.31a(2)–(3); Nov. 2024 Post-Election Audit Report.
AUTOMATIC RECOUNTS
Statewide races that fall within a 0.1% vote count margin are automatically recounted.
MCL 168.880a.
Did you know?As part of post-election procedure checks after the 2024 election, county clerks and their staff audited the presidential race in 378 randomly selected precincts statewide, checking election officials' compliance with more than 70 required procedures.