Whitmer casts absentee ballot, talks election security amid double voting case in Macomb County

BY ANNA LIZ NICHOLS, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—Less than a month before Election Day, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer cast her absentee ballot Tuesday in Lansing and talked to the media about early voting and the election security.

Last week, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced felony charges for four St. Clair Shores voters for reportedly casting absentee and in-person ballots during the August primary. In addition, three assistant clerks that the attorney general’s office says cleared the double voting also face felony charges.

Led by former President Donald Trump, many Republican leaders have decried early voting, reiterating Trump’s 2020 election conspiracies that he won the election by millions of votes, but fraud was rampant.

There’s been no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. President Joe Biden defeated Trump by 7 million votes and won the Electoral College 306-232.

Trump has since made a shift in voicing support for early voting, but has not been consistent, calling early voting “stupid” during a campaign event in Pennsylvania last month after encouraging attendees to vote early.

The handful of voters who were charged for double voting present an extremely rare problem, Whitmer said, and should not undermine confidence in voting absentee.

“I just turned in my ballot. I’m absolutely confident in our election system,” Whitmer said, reflecting on voter-approved changes to Michigan’s election laws in recent years, including no-reason absentee voting.

Those who are eligible to vote should vote, and they should vote early to avoid possible life emergencies on Election Day that would prevent them from making it to the polls, Whitmer said.

“Democracy works best when more people participate and decide who our leaders are. When a few do, we get policies that don’t improve the quality of life for everyone, and that’s why our votes are important,” Whitmer said.

In Michigan, tensions were high on Monday during the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, with one pro-Palestinian protester arrested at a University of Michigan demonstration that coincided with a memorial organized by Jewish students. There also were incidents of vandalism at U of M leaders’ homes and the Jewish Federation of Detroit.

During the Democratic presidential primary this winter, 100,000 voters voted “uncommitted” rather than support President Joe Biden, with many saying they were protesting his policies in Gaza. In July, Biden dropped out of the race and Democrats nominated Vice President Kamala Harris in August.

Pro-Palestinian and Muslim groups have been divided this election, with the Uncommitted group declining to endorse in the presidential race, while stressing it opposes Trump. Emgage has endorsed Harris and Abandon Harris announced this week it was endorsing Green Party nominee Jill Stein.

In Michigan, where the results of the presidential election may come down to slim margins, Harris has been in talks with members of the Arab American and Jewish communities, Whitmer noted.

“I was in a meeting in Flint with Kamala Harris and a number of folks from the community. These are hard conversations, but they’re important that we’re having. I know that Kamala Harris is absolutely committed to using the power of the United States to bring peace in the region, to get [the] return of hostages, to ensure that the loss of innocent lives stops, but she needs to win this election in order to do those things,” Whitmer said.

“So I’m hopeful that we can earn the support of people in communities across the state, including the Arab-American community, as well as the Jewish community.”

READ MORE: Whitmer signs bills to expand voting rights in Michigan

This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.