November election could be a 'disaster' if changes aren't made, Michigan advocates warn

More than 2 million Michiganders mailed in ballots or voted in person for the primary election Tuesday, requiring many clerks to scramble for staff during a pandemic and spend late-night hours tallying a record number of absentee ballots.. 

Overall, clerks and voters echoed Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's statement that the primary went well. But the anticipated turnout was less than half the number expected to take part in November, when control of the presidency and Congress are at stake.

Problems arising this week in Detroit and elsewhere are harbingers of potential calamity if changes are not made before the general election, voting rights advocates said Wednesday. 

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"While many aspects of this primary were a first, from the widespread use of vote by mail to COVID-19 pandemic concerns, there is no excuse for ballots not arriving on time or polling locations to open late and not be adequately staffed,"  said Aghogho Edevbie, state director of advocacy organization All Voting is Local. 

"If we don't fix these things in November, we're going to have a very bad situation that could turn into a disaster." 

Edevbie and other advocates participated in a conference call Wednesday to discuss the primary, and what needs to happen to ensure a successful general election. Although more than 1.6 million people voted using absentee ballots, the advocates noted some residents requested but did not receive a ballot in time. 

Much of the concern centered on Detroit, with fears that the problems seen in the state's largest city may became more pronounced throughout the state in the fall. 

At least several polling places in Detroit did not open on time Tuesday morning because they did not have enough election workers. The Michigan Secretary of State's Office ended up sending 50 extra poll workers to the city, along with 30 additional people to Flint and other municipalities that needed help. 

Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey said coronavirus concerns — and not training or logistical problems — led to the "abnormal" number of workers no-showing on Election Day. Other clerks said they were able to open polling places but only with the bare minimum number of election workers. 

As anticipated by Benson and others, results continued to trickle in Wednesday. 

Winfrey warned a week before the election that Detroit needed an additional 900 poll workers. Edevbie and other advocates stressed the need to recruit more poll workers far in advance of the next election. 

She also said the decision by Detroit Public Schools to hold summer classes resulted in the need to find 20 new polling locations on relatively short notice. 

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The city sent memos to voters about changes to their polling places, but several residents told the Free Press they did not receive any notice or received the letter the day before the election. 

Voters need to be informed about polling place changes sooner in November, said Clare Allenson, the civic engagement director for Michigan League of Conservation Voters. Allenson worked Tuesday at one of the Detroit polling locations that had recently been moved from its usual home. 

"We needed to check our voters that came in to make sure that they had come to the right changed location. In some cases they had not, which meant that they needed to walk a couple more blocks to go and vote at their new location," Allenson said. 

"They had not been notified ahead of time in many cases, and were very frustrated by the process." 

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Some of these challenges were anticipated after 2018, when Michigan approved a change that allows for any voter to request an absentee ballot for any reason. Clerks across the state have known there would be a massive uptick in absentee ballots, even before coronavirus fears prompted many to vote by mail. 

But planning only goes so far, noted Sharon Dolente, a voting rights strategist with the ACLU of Michigan. 

"Election officials need resources to do what needs to be done to process that level of absentee ballots. That includes money for temporary staff," Dolente said. 

"If you have to process twice as many absentee ballots and mail out twice as many absentee ballots as you've ever done before, you are going to need more bodies and more resources to pay for those folks." 

Benson received roughly $11 million in federal coronavirus aid earlier this year, but has said millions more is needed to ensure a successful general election. On Tuesday evening, she also called for fully funding the U.S. Postal Service, a move she said would provide clarity and certainty to clerks who will rely on the mail for millions of ballots in the fall. 

Dolente and other advocates stressed the need to inform voters about their options ahead of the general election. Voters can mail in or drop off absentee ballots, vote in person at a clerk's office using an absentee ballot or vote at the polls on Nov. 3. 

That doesn't mean results will be immediately available as soon as polls close. But renewed focus on educating voters and making it easier to cast a ballot will ensure more people have the chance to participate in the election this fall, the advocates said. 

Contact Dave Boucher: dboucher@freepress.com or 313-938-4591. Follow him on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.