Regular Edition News Update #2022-18

May 25, 2022

Updated Challenger Document

The Bureau of Elections’ Appointment, Rights and Duties of Election Challengers and Poll Watchers document has been updated and is available on Michigan.gov/Elections. This document provides more detailed information for challengers, poll watchers, clerks, and election inspectors regarding the different types of challenges allowed and the steps to take when those challenges are made. It also provides guidance regarding challengers and poll watchers in Absent Voter Counting Boards. We will be printing the document in a booklet form for easier use in precincts. We will also add the booklets to the county order form in eLearning when they are available.

Additionally, we have provided a Michigan Challenger Credential Card on our website. Parties and credentialling organizations should ensure the credentials issued to their challengers substantially comply with this form.

QVF Software Updates

• Mass AV now has an “Include: Perm Accessible” option to email the accessible app link to voters from QVF. Uncheck the voters for whom QVF does not have an email address on file before clicking “Send Accessible App”; an error message will show the voters who could not be emailed.
• Perm AV and Perm Accessible lists are now exclusive of one another. Uncheck one list to add a check to the other.
• AV Details & AV Scan now shows a secondary signature as well as the primary signature, when available.
• In AV Details, a ballot’s sent or received date can be edited without having to the delete the ballot and re-enter with the corrected dates.
• In Voting History, changed the address to display “Legacy Address” for elections held prior to the launch of QVF Refresh

Election Security

Over the past few months many of our local clerks have received phishing emails from a malicious source. Fortunately, clerks have been diligent and able to identify these malicious emails, doing an excellent job of putting their election-security training to good use! It is critical to remain cyber-resilient. At the below link is a detailed infographic to assist with avoiding Phishing emails:

How to avoid Phishing Emails

Redistricting Status Update

All districts subject to redistricting in 2021 have been updated in QVF. This does not necessarily mean that every jurisdiction’s redistricting is 100% complete at this time. Please review your jurisdiction’s Street Index Report and Permanent Geography module to identify areas of concern and email questions to ElectionData@Michigan.gov. Redistricting-related questions should not be submitted through the standard “Street Change Requests” tool. The “Street Change Requests” tool is for new street segments, expanded house number ranges or school district assignment corrections. The Bureau will do its best to address these requests expeditiously as redistricting winds down.

Polling Location Assignments

Polling locations for the August Primary have been published to MVIC. Clerks should review precinct assignments in both the Precincts & Polling Locations and the Election Geography modules for accuracy. Any edits to polling locations moving forward for August and November will need to be committed in both modules of QVF. MVIC displays the polling location that is assigned in the Election Geography module.

• Lookup > Precincts and Polling Locations
• Elections > Election Geography

In this issue:

• Updated Challenger Document
• BOE Closed on Monday
• Ballot Proof Approval for August 2, 2022 Primary Election
• QVF Software Updates
• Election Security
• Redistricting Status Update
• Election Geo and AV Impacts
• Polling Location Assignments
• Redistricting Module Retirement

BOE Closed on Monday

The Bureau of Elections will be closed on Monday, May 30 in observance of Memorial Day.

Ballot Proof Approval for August 2, 2022 Primary Election

If the Board of State Canvassers has certified the candidate list, the Bureau of Elections will accept ballots for conditional approval as to form for the August 2, 2022 election beginning on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. This is part of an effort to help counties, local jurisdictions and vendors have more lead time to have absent voter ballots available for voters starting 40 days before August 2. Ballot proofs should be submitted to Dave Tarrant at Tarrantd2@Michigan.gov. Please note that under the Michigan Constitution, the Michigan Legislature may add proposed constitutional amendments to the ballot as late as June 3. The BOE is not aware of any efforts to add constitutional amendments to the August ballot at this time but cannot guarantee that the Michigan Legislature will not do so. BOE approval of ballot format will therefore be conditional on no additional state-level measures being added to the ballot.

Once BOE approves the form of the ballot, it is imperative that county and local clerks employ a rigorous proofing process of the content of the ballot. That is especially important this year; while reprinting ballots because of errors is always problematic, it will likely be especially difficult and expensive this year because of shortages in paper supply. Important steps to take include:

• Counties and municipalities should establish points of contact and timelines for the review of ballots to ensure that every ballot style is reviewed by both the county and municipal clerk prior to printing.
• Counties should communicate with neighboring counties about any school district language in school districts that cross county lines.
• Carefully review your split precincts and any district numbers that have changed. Ensure you have accounted for all your ballot splits.
• Ensure all “vote for” numbers are correct.
• Make sure all local office partial terms are included on the ballot.

Election Geo & AV Impacts

The Bureau of Elections continues to review US Congressional, State House, State Senate, County Commissioner districts and precinct assignments, making corrections where necessary. During this time, changes may occur that impact your jurisdiction’s election geography. Counting Boards and Ballot Style Aliases may be reset while making district corrections, so please be aware of the potential for these changes while processing absent voter ballot applications.

Redistricting Module Retirement

Clerk access to the Redistricting module will be removed soon. New requests can no longer be submitted through the module; however, any requests and files already submitted will be retained and accessed by Bureau staff.

Helpful Links