City of Detroit Clerk Janice Winfrey on Thursday said the elections department is preparing for federal observers for the Aug. 4 primary election in which officials said to expect an 18-25% turnout.
Voters in Detroit and across the state will elect candidates running for state House and state Senate, U.S. Senate and governor. There are also local proposals on the ballot across the state to raise money for schools and students.
Winfrey at the press conference held at the Northwest Wayne County Community College District campus also talked about the Department of Justice’s plans to send additional election monitors to watch poll workers in Detroit.
The Department of Justice is planning to send eight election monitors, in four teams of two, to watch election workers administer the Aug. 4 primary in Detroit, Winfrey said.
Winfrey said the federal government shared concerns with the city’s VAT machines, its voter assisted terminals. The federal department also raised the issue of poll workers’ readiness, Winfrey said. She rejected the concerns, saying the city has never run out of provisional ballots, and that they don’t have record of federal election monitors visiting as many as 65 polling places during the 2024 election.
Republican President Donald Trump has for years falsely accused election administrators in states and cities that he lost of impropriety.
“We’ve never had any problems with our VAT machines they’ve always been at every polling location for every election, every time,” Winfrey said. “They are fully functional. They’re properly deployed, and they’re regularly used to ensure the accessibility of all voters, including voters with disabilities.”
Winfrey said Detroit poll workers are always fully trained and prepared to administer the election in compliance with Michigan law, including properly issuing provisional ballots and assisting voters using the VAT equipment when requested.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson told Michigan Chronicle on Thursday that the state always welcomes observers.
“Transparency is our friend and anyone who in good faith observes our elections here in Michigan, whether in Detroit, East Lansing, or anywhere, else will see the reality.”
Asked by the Michigan Chronicle why the federal government is targeting the state’s largest Black city, elections director Daniel Baxter said their goal is to “suppress the vote.”
Baxter shared a quote from former Republican Michigan lawmaker John Pappageorge was quoted in the Detroit Free Press in 2004 saying, “If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we’re going to have a tough time in this election cycle.”
“The city of Detroit has over a half of a million registered voters in it. That number all by itself is power,” Baxter said. “This process of democracy, this process of voting is based upon every individual in America who registers to vote and allows for their voice to be heard.”
