House Oversight Chair Matt Hall, of Marshall, today issued the following statement after a joint hearing of the House and Senate Oversight Committees. The legislative bodies – after receiving approval via resolution in both the House and Senate – issued subpoenas to Livonia City Clerk Susan Nash and Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey for information and communications related to the 2020 general and primary elections:

“I’ve maintained that it is vitally important as we go forward in Michigan to ensure our election procedures are transparent, efficient and trustworthy when people go to the polls. This stance isn’t a partisan one. It’s something we all should strive for.

“It’s also something that people have demanded from their elected representatives following the most recent election. There have been several reports of irregularities in the immediate aftermath that made people question if Michigan’s elections system could be trusted, and if it is both free and fair.

“The House and Senate Oversight Committees have heard testimony and claims about this election. We’ve also heard from officials who have responded to those claims. These additional measures will allow us to look at the evidence and confirm the truth.

“That evidence lies within records, documents and communications from local officials who oversaw election processes in communities where irregularities have been reported. We need to review plans and outlines for Detroit and Livonia’s absent voter counting structure, as well as qualified voter file information and lists of poll workers, their party affiliations and training procedures. Surveillance footage, hard drives and other storage materials such as USB drives can deliver us additional information that will help us see how these elections functioned and where they can operate more efficiently.

“This information can help complete our picture as we work to provide people throughout our state with clarity and answers they deserve – so they can have an elections system that they trust going forward.”