Major Michigan city decides not to verify mail-in ballots early, potentially slowing results – 9&10 News

LANSING (AP) — A decision by the clerk of elections in Michigan’s third-largest city is raising concerns about a slowdown in the reporting of results on Election Night in a county that is being targeted by both presidential campaigns and includes a competitive race for Congress.

Warren’s city clerk, who also runs elections in the Macomb County city, opted not to use a new state law that allows election offices to begin processing mail-in ballots before Election Day. The vast majority of election jurisdictions in the presidential battleground state are taking advantage of the law, which allows them to begin verifying signatures and other identifying information eight days early.

City Clerk Sonja Djurovic Buffa said that in light of other changes coming into effect for election administrators this year, such as expanding early voting, she decided to process mail-in ballots on Election Day, just as has done his office for years.

He said processing those ballots at the same time is more efficient and suggested that processing them before Election Day opens up the possibility of results being leaked early.

“Accuracy is the number one priority for me, and then speed is number two,” Buffa, who has worked in elections for more than two decades, said in a written statement.

Under the law, passed as part of a broader 2022 citizen initiative that also expanded early voting, municipalities with populations of 5,000 or more have the option to begin processing absentee ballots early, but are not forced to do so. The results would not be reported until after the polls closed, as in previous years.

Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, a Republican, said he is disappointed by Buffa’s decision, saying it could delay unofficial results on election night. He said people in Michigan and across the country will look to their county for results in races that are “very slim.”

Macomb County is part of the Detroit suburbs and is considered important for winning state elections. It also includes part of Michigan’s 10th congressional district, where voters will resolve a competitive rematch between incumbent John James, a Republican, and Democratic challenger Carl Marlinga.

Warren, its most populous city, is a Democratic stronghold within a county that has trended Republican in recent years. Trump handily won Macomb County in 2016 and 2020.

The deadline for clerks to notify the Secretary of State’s office whether they will pre-process absentee ballots has passed. Angela Benander, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, said 245 municipalities are taking advantage of the new law that allows early processing. Smaller cities get a one-day head start, rather than eight days.

“Most notably, each of the 15 largest jurisdictions except Warren will conduct preprocessing,” Benander said in a written statement.

Michael Siegrist, Canton Town Clerk, said not processing mail-in ballots ahead of time in such a populated city will mean a longer wait to learn the winners in certain races. He added that the need for instant gratification on election night makes it harder for the public to wait and could open the door to misinformation.

“Nature abhors a vacuum and people will fill it,” Siegrist said in a call with reporters.