Securing Your Vote
Jan BenDor, LMSW, Accredited Election
Administrator, State Co-coordinator
Michigan Election Reform Alliance.org
“Without the Right to Vote,
there are no other rights.”
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Thomas Paine, American Revolutionary
A right to vote is not defined in either
the U.S. or Michigan Constitution
Election laws are complex, vary from
state to state, so citizens are mystified
Voting rights are procedural—
based in detailed rules
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The media ignore voting problems-inside baseball, not sensational
Few voters understand the election
system; administrators don’t
understand the technology they use
Middle class voters trust the system and
don’t question it enough
Low income voters distrust, don’t vote
State and Federal Election
Law: Complex Patchwork
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Read MICHIGAN ELECTION LAW Act 116 of
1954 for a cheap sleep enhancer at
http://www.legislature.mi.gov
Local election administrators are poorly
trained, overloaded by unfunded federal and
state mandates, many choosing to retire
Election workers make minimum wage; most
are elderly but must work 15-20 hours on
election day
Our Challenge: Secure the
Right to Vote & be Counted
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Identify election system pitfalls and
help voters avoid them
Hold elections officials accountable to
standards and public control
Stop partisan manipulation of the
election system’s weaknesses & work
for comprehensive reform
Election Pitfalls for MI Voters
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1) What is the best way to register to
vote? (Deadline: 30 days before E-day)
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Driver’s license branch office?
Mail-in registration form?
Local clerk’s office?
Voter registration drive by volunteers?
NOTE: there is NO “online” reg in MI!
Avoiding Pitfalls, Cont.
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2) You haven’t voted in some time, and
wonder if you are still registered. How
do you check?
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SOS branch?
Local clerk?
www.michigan.gov/sos/vote
County clerk?
Avoiding Pitfalls, Cont.
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3) You can’t get to the precinct on
election day due to job, kids, no ride
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Call local clerk and ask to be on permanent
AV application list
Month before the election, and Saturday
before, 9 a-2p, vote AV in person at Clerk
Monday before Election day until 4 p.m.,
request and vote an absentee ballot
Avoiding Pitfalls, Cont.
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4) You are living temporarily away from
home (student, trucker, pilot, expatriot)
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Register in person at local clerk’s office
You decide your address of residence
Register as “nontraditional” voter with no
home address and PO Box mailing address
Month before the election, and Saturday
before, 9 a-2p, vote AV in person at Clerk
Pitfalls, Cont.
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5) You just served time in jail or prison
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Register in person or verify your continuing
registration at local clerk’s office
If just released and homeless, register as
“nontraditional” voter with no home
address and PO Box mailing address
No ID is needed to register to vote!
Citizens Hold Officials
Accountable
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Credentialed election “Challengers” and
MERA Monitors receive training and
may circulate in the polling place, view
and record information
Any member of the public can be a poll
watcher, observing from the designated
public area
Exit pollsters may stand 20 feet from
the entrance to a polling place
Polling Place Management
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10 stations for 2,999 voters?
Need 1 voting station for every 50
registered voters, not 300. (2,999
voters X 15 min. per voter=750 voter
hours/13 hour voting day=58 stations
in the maximum size precinct
Use inexpensive cardboard or plastic
privacy screens on tables with chairs
At issue right now:
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Use of the US Mail and out of state
driver licenses by SOS Land to purge
voters without legal steps required by
the NVRA (federal judge said stop)
Caging voters by partisan groups—mail,
misleading robo calls and fliers
Voter intimidation at the polls
Tampering with the vote count
Stop partisan manipulation of
election system weaknesses
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Centralization of power in the partisan SOS
Bureau of Elections which refuses to comply
with Admin Proc Act, issuing arbitrary rules
Total lack of checks and balances: citizens
forbidden to use cameras or video
Partisan enforcement of election laws
Open field for partisan vote caging, petition
fraud, insider vote count tampering
Election Reform Plan
Michigan Election Reform Alliance
(MERA)
www.michiganelectionreformalliance.org
Major Goals
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Guarantee the right
to vote
Protect equal access
to voting
Fairness for all
candidates & issues
Accurate and
transparent vote
counting
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Restore public
confidence in
Michigan Elections
Clean up and
modernize state
laws
Nonpartisan, reliable
law enforcement
Why fix Michigan’s elections?
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Strength of Michigan elections used to reside
in local control, diversity, nonpartisan ethic
In 1998, the partisan State Bureau of
Elections increased control through central
registration database (Qualified Voter File)
Bureau used the 2002 Help America Vote Act
($80 million) to centralize authority over
equipment, data and interpretation of law
HAVA fixed what was not
“broke” in Michigan
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Every jurisdiction forced to accept one
of three brands of insecure optical scan
tabulators that can be easily hacked
Citizens can no longer see the vote
actually counted
Government responsibility has been
outsourced to private corporations
No external audits, checks, or balances
Seals don’t stop e-fraud
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Optical scan
memory card sized
like a credit card
128K
No serial numbercards look the same
Changes leave no
tracks
Wire seal on the memory card
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The lid on the case
can be removed
with a screwdriver,
leaving no impact on
this wire seal.
Just remove the bolt
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Memory card easily
removed and
replaced
Wire seal stays
intact, attached to
removed bolt
Or use the ports
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U. of Connecticut &
U of Penn studies
showed that the
entire memory can
be downloaded to a
laptop, the program
changed, and
reloaded in seconds
Recounts Don’t Remedy Fraud
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Only the losing
candidates can
petition
Fear of sour grapessore loser stigma
Counties do not
have to hand count;
Oakland—5 votes
per pct. threshold
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“Unrecountable” if
seals broken, poll
book unbalanced—
dishonest result
STANDS!
State Board of
Canvassers certifies
despite evidence;
refuses duty to
investigate
MERA Plan for Election Audits
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Establish authority
under the Audit
Division of the State
Treasurer
Follows national
guidelines of the
State Audits
Working Group
(Electionaudits.org)
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Election night audit
of one race in every
precinct to detect
malfunctions
Post election audits
of statistically based
sample of precincts
Escalation to full
recount if warranted
Map Legend
VVPR + manual audits required (18)
VVPR required; No audit requirement
(13)
VVPR not required but in use
statewide; No audit requirement (8)
No VVPR requirement; No audit
requirement (11)
We need your help!
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Bill sponsors and constituent pressure
to implement reforms
Personal statements at public hearings
Citizen involvement in MERA Monitors
Tell people about the MERA Plan
Publicize
www.MichiganElectionReformAlliance.org
Thank you!
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Please contact us with questions, ideas,
and comments
MichiganElectionReformAlliance.org
Jan BenDor 734/484-1744 or
jan@bendor.org