October 30, 2024
In an alarming discovery that could shake confidence in Michigan’s election system, data analysts Tim Vetter, Data Lead for United Sovereign Americans, and Phani Mantravadi, founder of Check My Vote, uncovered thousands of duplicate votes on Michigan’s August primary voter rolls. Their analysis revealed a staggering 6,126 duplicate votes, with 6,017 of these duplicates mysteriously disappearing from the rolls after media reports brought the issue to light. Despite this, 109 duplicate entries remained in the October vote history, sparking widespread concerns and adding fuel to the ongoing debate over election integrity.
The findings underscore what Vetter describes as a troubling trend: a pattern where Michigan’s Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office appears to act only after independent media and election integrity groups expose inconsistencies. Vetter explained that once duplicate votes were identified in the rolls, they were removed without acknowledgment or clarification from election officials. According to Michigan law, voter records must remain unchanged post-certification, and any alteration could be considered a felony offense. Vetter emphasized that voter histories, much like financial records, should remain untouched to ensure transparency and accuracy.
Details of the Findings and Implications for Election Integrity
In a deep dive into the Daily Absentee Voter Reports obtained via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from Michigan’s Bureau of Elections, Vetter and Mantravadi discovered an additional anomaly on October 28, 2024. They found that 208,075 votes were cast by 82,647 unique voter IDs. This discrepancy suggested that approximately 125,428 excess ballots were tied to these IDs, signaling a duplication issue. For example, one voter ID reportedly cast 29 votes across 19 separate addresses in Detroit alone.
“The data tells us that some voter IDs are being used multiple times across different addresses,” Vetter explained. “It’s a pattern of misuse that could implicate innocent voters in potential election fraud. Most of these individuals are likely unaware that their voter IDs are being misused.”
Mantravadi corroborated Vetter’s findings, and both analysts peer-reviewed each other’s work for accuracy. According to them, these discrepancies raise questions about whether Michigan’s Qualified Voter File (QVF) is effectively safeguarded against potential misuse. Michigan law mandates strict rules around voter record changes, which must remain consistent post-certification.
The Secretary of State’s Response and Election Integrity Concerns
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has previously assured voters that Michigan’s elections are a “gold standard” of security and transparency. However, this claim has been repeatedly challenged by groups like United Sovereign Americans and Check My Vote. Following the recent discovery, Vetter accused Benson’s office of “vote laundering” or the “deliberate manipulation of vote history records.” This manipulation, he asserts, undermines Michigan’s election integrity and threatens the legal standing of future federal elections in Michigan.
The Michigan GOP, alongside United Sovereign Americans and election integrity advocates, has since filed lawsuits against Secretary Benson, Michigan’s Bureau of Elections, Attorney General Dana Nessel, and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. The lawsuit contends that the state’s handling of voter records has failed to meet minimum standards for federal elections, as mandated by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). The plaintiffs argue that if Michigan’s election officials continue to overlook such irregularities, it will jeopardize the legitimacy of future elections.
Benson’s critics point to her previous handling of voter roll maintenance as evidence of a lack of transparency. In February 2024, Benson’s office reportedly removed coding from the voter rolls that showed whether voters participated via absentee, early voting, or in person. According to Vetter, this coding was instrumental in identifying duplicate votes and tracking ballot types. By removing this feature, Benson effectively made it more challenging for independent auditors to verify the accuracy of the voter rolls.
A System Vulnerable to Manipulation?
United Sovereign Americans and Check My Vote’s findings suggest a substantial vulnerability in Michigan’s voter record management. According to Vetter, Michigan’s election data shows disturbing trends that undermine public confidence in the electoral process. A historical analysis of the QVF revealed a 15-fold increase in duplicate voting between 2020 and 2023, with the highest occurrence in the 2023 elections. In just the November 2023 election alone, Michigan recorded 50 times the number of duplicate votes compared to previous elections.
Vetter and Mantravadi’s examination of the QVF, accessed through FOIA requests, paints a concerning picture. Between January 2019 and December 2023, Michigan’s voter records show significant inconsistencies, including:
- 100,229 registrations tied to invalid addresses
- 7,481 duplicate entries
- 58 million vote records altered post-certification
- 3,646 voter histories moved to new voter IDs.
Additionally, some records revealed multiple votes under the same ID, with ballot types mysteriously changing between absentee, early voting, and in-person voting without legitimate documentation. Vetter explained that these “unusual modifications” raise serious concerns, describing them as “vote laundering,” a term referring to unauthorized or unexplained changes in voter data to mask irregularities.
United Sovereign Americans and Check My Vote: Working for Election Integrity
United Sovereign Americans and Check My Vote are pushing for a comprehensive audit of Michigan’s voter rolls before the next federal election cycle. The organizations are calling on Michigan’s election officials to collaborate with independent auditors to ensure that voter rolls are accurate and free of duplications.
United Sovereign Americans, a nonpartisan group, has taken legal action to address these irregularities. The group’s lawsuit claims that the state’s failure to meet HAVA’s error standards—one error per 500,000 ballots—renders Michigan’s 2022 election results unreliable.
With less than a month until absentee ballots for the 2024 election are mailed out, the urgency for addressing these discrepancies is critical. United Sovereign Americans is calling on citizens to get involved, with Vetter encouraging Michigan residents to demand transparency and accountability from election officials.
For more information, visit United Sovereign Americans, Check My Vote, and read further on Detroit News, The Gateway Pundit, and Fox News.
