Joint Statement from Kent and Ottawa County Clerks

Ottawa County, Michigan sent this bulletin at 07/25/2022 12:47 PM EDT

July 25, 2022

Joint Statement from Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons and Ottawa County Clerk Justin F. Roebuck:

Our teams have received calls and messages this morning concerning election results data that has been posted on local media sites. We want to be very clear that results posted on these sites were not provided by official election administrators, nor were our offices involved in any way.

Prior to every election, websites are stress tested to ensure that data can accurately be reported. It is our understanding that the media organizations inadvertently made their testing “live”. Proper protocols should be in place and followed to do this testing in a “non-live” environment.

Misinformation from any source, whether intentional or unintentional, can damage public confidence in our elections. Therefore, we encourage these media outlets to issue a public explanation to their audiences so that the public has the facts and the situation may be immediately cleared up.

As a reminder, results posted on media websites are never official results. Michigan’s election process has many checks and balances in place, built to protect against errors such as these.

What voters can be assured of is that every Election Day, the first task of our poll workers is to sign a zero report that prints directly from the tabulator, ensuring that no ballots have been cast or votes have been tabulated. After the close of polls these same poll workers will sign the totals tape, that lists the totals for all ballots cast in their precinct. These totals tapes are verified by the bi-partisan Board of County Canvassers in each County and compared to unofficial results that appear on the County’s website. This check and many others must occur before results are certified. Following the certification, hand count audits conducted in every county will also ensure that the ballot count matches the certified total.

As always, voters are encouraged to seek accurate information from their election officials whenever they have questions or concerns.

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Ottawa County is located on Lake Michigan's spectacular freshwater coastline where nature is cherished and protected. More than the lakeshore, you'll find the people of Ottawa County friendly yet driven, working hard to succeed in charming downtown small businesses, at manufacturing hubs with global impact and on acres passed down from generations. We embrace creativity and believe that diversity makes us stronger. We resolve that our public services must be high-quality and cost-effective. We are innovative and never wait for someone to solve our problems for us. We are friendly neighbors chipping in, lending a hand and making sure you know Ottawa County is where you belong.

The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners meets the second and fourth Tuesdays each month at 1:30PM. The public is welcome and encouraged to participate. Meetings are held in the Board Room located at 12220 Fillmore Street, West Olive, Michigan. Contact information and district information for the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners is available at miOttawa.org.

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