An Election Update
Dear Voters,
Our elections team and election officials throughout Michigan are working very hard to ensure the best possible voting experience for you Tuesday. Our efforts include:
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Reducing lines – We’ve provided tools and training to help clerks, who actually run elections in Michigan, as they determine how many voting stations they’ll need on Election Day. We’ll also have several teams fanning out in some larger cities and townships to measure wait times.
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Training - Our state Bureau of Elections held training sessions in every county this year for local election officials as well as online training for poll workers.
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Post-election audits – We began audits to examine the entire elections process. We’ve done 420 audits to date and will oversee 275 audits statewide, with some conducted in every county. The audits help clerks identify areas where more poll worker training may be needed.
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Poll books –Electronic poll books, which help reduce human error, speed voter processing and help keep our voter rolls up to date, are now used in 92 percent of all precincts.
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Helping voters – At the Michigan Voter Information Center at www.michigan.gov/vote, voters can look at a sample ballot, confirm they are registered, find their polling location and track the status of their absentee ballots. As many as 10,000 people a day visit the site.
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Election Day help desk – As always, the Bureau of Elections will be working extended hours on Election Day and all staff will be working to assist clerks throughout the state. Voters with any issues should contact their local clerk for help.
Finally, I want to say thank you to Michigan’s 38,000 poll workers who help make voting – one of our most precious rights and responsibilities – possible. Wishing you a wonderful Election Day!
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson was presented with the Michigan Donor Family Council’s 2014 “Inspiration Award” in Lansing on Oct. 22 for her work promoting organ, tissue and eye donation.
Johnson changed the way the Secretary of State’s office promoted Michigan’s organ donor registry after she was elected in 2010. Since that time, more than 1.7 million people have joined the registry, which has grown from 27 percent of all eligible adults registered to nearly 50 percent.
She said she is proud of the historic growth of the state’s organ donor rolls, especially because it was accomplished without additional tax dollars.
In 2011, Johnson formed a task force to look at creative, low-cost ways to expand the registry. She credited her staff, partnerships with Gift of Life Michigan and the Michigan Eye-Bank and the people of Michigan “who are so generous and caring.
“I’m so proud of the hard work our staff has put into this, from asking customers if they are registered to spreading the word about organ donation by putting messages on our most widely used forms and our website,” said Johnson. “Together we are saving and improving lives.”
 Secretary Johnson recently announced a new plan to thwart scammers trying to take advantage of law-abiding citizens by selling fake insurance or through other tricks. The move is part of her ongoing efforts to protect consumers and fight auto insurance fraud.
The new efforts use cutting-edge technology, expand best practices and maximize resources. They include:
- A comprehensive review of her department’s processes, technology and structure to determine how best to detect and deter fraud.
- Data analysis to identify signs in transactions that may indicate fraud.
- Expanding the verification of the thousands of insurance certificates the department receives from customers daily.
- An upgrade in case management software to give department investigators the best tools for tracking down fraudulent activity.
- A roundtable discussion with business leaders about fraud to seek their advice and ensure the department is following best practices.
“These new measures will strengthen consumer protection and root out fraud,” Johnson said. “Using cutting-edge technology and through our continued use of best practices, we’ll dig deeper into the millions of transactions we process each year to catch criminals running their scams and stop them from taking advantage of law-abiding citizens.”
Some of the new initiatives are the result of recent recommendations by the Fighting Auto Insurance Rip-Offs (FAIR) Task Force. Others reflect Johnson's intent to crack down on any type of fraud that targets the department and its customers.
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