By Garlin Gilchrist II
Donald Trump and his allies tried to overturn Michigan’s votes once. Now they are laying the groundwork to try again.
Just this week, they sent election monitors to three cities, including here in Detroit, ahead of our state’s August primary.
Let’s be clear: Donald Trump has not earned the benefit of the doubt on elections.
You cannot spend years spreading lies about Detroit voters and then pretend federal monitors are neutral. You cannot falsely claim our elections are rigged, pressure officials to overturn legitimate results and try to discard the votes of an overwhelmingly Black city, then suddenly present yourself as a defender of election integrity.
Federal election monitors have played a legitimate and important role in protecting voting rights, particularly in communities where voters have faced discrimination or intimidation. When deployed to enforce civil rights laws and ensure every eligible voter can participate, monitoring can strengthen our democracy.
But context and purpose matter.
This is an administration that has spent years attacking Detroit, spreading election lies and undermining confidence in the people who administer our elections. Its Justice Department has shattered trust with local officials and voters. You cannot repeatedly treat Detroit ballots as suspicious and then expect Detroiters to assume that federal scrutiny is neutral.
That is why the decision to send monitors here must be viewed as part of a larger playbook, not in isolation.
After the 2020 election, they did not simply question Michigan’s results. They targeted Wayne County’s vote, pressured officials not to certify the election and promoted baseless claims that ballots cast by Detroiters should not be trusted.
They failed because election workers, public officials and ordinary citizens stood up for the truth. But they learned from that failure. This time, they are trying to put more of the machinery in place before the votes are even cast.
Earlier this year, Trump’s Justice Department demanded ballots and election records from Wayne County stemming from the 2024 election. Michigan law makes clear that those ballots are held by local clerks, not the county itself, but that misses the point. These demands are part of a broader strategy to keep relitigating settled elections, place local officials under constant pressure and create a pretext for questioning results before a single vote has been cast.
The election monitors are only the latest step.
Trump and his allies spread lies about voter fraud. They use those lies to justify demands for voter rolls, ballots and sensitive election information. They threaten vote by mail, attack local clerks who refuse to do their bidding and push policies that make it harder for eligible citizens to cast a ballot.
Each action may be presented as a routine legal or administrative decision. Taken together, their goal is clearly to manufacture distrust in the process, intimidate officials, burden voters and position the federal government to challenge election results Donald Trump does not like.
Michigan voters should be able to cast their ballots freely, safely and without federal agents looking over their shoulders. Local election officials should be able to do their jobs without threats, harassment or political interference.
That means we must defend the independence of our local clerks, protecting voters’ personal information and ensuring every eligible Michigander can cast a ballot safely and securely. It means refusing to let Donald Trump use the power of the federal government to target Detroit, undermine confidence in our elections or diminish the voice of any Michigan voter. And that’s my promise to you as your next Secretary of State. .
