State Rep. Matt Hall, chair of the House Oversight Committee, today led the unveiling of recommendations aimed at improving procedures within Michigan’s Bureau of Elections.

The committee’s recommendations would improve the accuracy of voter lists, incentivize training of election officials, and improve review of political candidate and lobbying reports. The recommendations stem from an Auditor General’s report on the Bureau of Elections (BOE) that was released in December 2019. The House Oversight Committee conducted a joint hearing on the audit with the Senate Oversight Committee and took testimony from both the Auditor General and the BOE.

“We learned through that hearing that there were a few significant issues within our state’s Bureau of Elections that needed to be addressed,” said Hall, of Marshall. “The integrity of Michigan’s elections must be protected, and we must have a bureau that can effectively oversee those elections.”

The audit focused on the state’s qualified voter file and whether or not only eligible voters were listed, campaign finance and lobby reports, and the level of training received by local clerks.

Hall noted a few surprising findings from the initial audit – including sampling which produced 230 registered voters in Michigan listed as over 122 years old. The oldest known living person in the world is currently 117-years-old. The BOE also did not properly remove access for every employee or contractor who left their position. Consequently, the audit revealed multiple occurrences of a former state employee successfully logging into the statewide voting list.

“This startling lack of safeguards opens the door for voter fraud,” Hall said. “The bureau must improve its control over the state voter file to prevent inappropriate access and protect voter information.”

The BOE is housed within the Michigan Department of State and was established to assist with the administration of the Secretary of State’s election-related duties and responsibilities. Among these is compiling and maintaining the Qualified Voter File, which is a list of all registered voters in Michigan.

The BOE also offers guidance and training to local clerks and other election officers who independently administer the elections. The audit revealed issues with this procedure as well, as 340 Michigan jurisdictions – out of 1,603 which require a clerk – lacked a full accredited election official.

“These recommendations will ensure Michigan’s elections run more smoothly.” Hall said. “Fair elections are a pillar of our democracy and this oversight process protects that sentiment.”