Trump Triumphs While Slow-Counting Detroit Stumbles During Elections

While many parts of the state were able to promptly report their election results, the counties of Detroit, Wayne, and Macomb were reported to have fallen behind in declaring their results from Tuesday’s primary. This prompted some alarm, provoking speculation that similar situations might instigate misguided narratives questioning election integrity during the approaching general elections to be held on Nov. 5.

The issue exists despite recent laws implemented that empower clerks to commence tallying absentee ballots up to one week before Election Day concludes at 8 p.m. Surprisingly, Detroit, alongside Wayne and Macomb ended up behind much of the state in the course of announcing voting results.

Early morning Wednesday, Detroit released partial vote totals, with the clerk’s elections website indicating no precincts had fully reported yet. The last update was provided at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, which is quite late. Not to mention, Wayne County, including the city of Detroit, only made public the voting statistics for a meager 2% of its precincts, and Macomb County, covering just 39% of its precincts.

Meanwhile, other counties were able to keep up, with Oakland County ensuing with results from 94% of precincts, Kent County from 85%, and Genesee County from 78%. All these occurred while the aforementioned counties struggled with their returns, raising several eyebrows.

Jonathan Kinloch, a Wayne County Commissioner and a previous member of the county’s elections review board, voiced his concerns regarding the delay in election results. ‘We will become the global focal point in November,’ he warned, clearly disconcerted by Michigan’s current state of affairs. Ever since Trump’s outstanding victory over Clinton in 2016 by approximately 11,000 votes, Michigan has remained under national scrutiny.

Vote reporting delays, particularly in Detroit, led to the election results hanging in the balance until the next day. This was most notable in the 2020 election. Despite Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in Michigan by more than 150,000 votes, it was later disparaged by Trump using the slow reporting as a basis to claim the election was unfairly biased.

Daniel Baxter, who serves in a supporting position to Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey, disclosed reasons as to why the publication of Detroit’s election statistics had been stalled. Surprisingly, a large influx of absentee ballots on Election Day alongside a computer malfunction were outlined as factors. The former condition was particularly unusual, with approximately 10,000 voters returning their absentee ballots the same day.

This number was almost two times greater than the compiled record of absentee votes usually anticipated on Election Day. Alarmingly, Detroit’s totals were not announced until around 7:30 a.m. on the following Wednesday morning, adding to the cumulative delay.

Baxter was, however, of the view that this lag in proceedings was not a cause for alarm. Going forward, he said, additional staff would be hired to manage the workload, expressing complete confidence in Detroit’s ability to report results at a much faster pace in the impending November elections.

Dorian Tyus, representing Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett, attributes the postponement in local municipalities’ data streaming to the county clerk’s website chiefly to an IT issue. A problem with their firewall caused municipalities to resort to manual data delivery to the county clerk’s office in downtown Detroit, thereby delaying the process.

Tyus assured that a careful evaluation of the incident was to be done, albeit with no clear timeline. He affirmed a commitment to ensuring the avoidance of such a mishap for the November elections. Robust backup processes being triggered as part of mitigation underlined the dedication to maintaining the accuracy and completeness of results, albeit with some time lag due to technical constraints.

Macomb County Clerk, Anthony Forlini, emphasized that electronic transmission was not relied upon due to uncertified tabulator modems being in place. Community-specific information was instead sourced using computer drives, underlining the use of conventional methods over newer technologies in certain instances.

Forlini disclosed that his office commenced receiving results from approximately 9:30 p.m. on the election night. Despite the traditional approach, they were able to release results relatively early as compared to previous occasions. Interestingly, Forlini noted Macomb County reported complete results even before Oakland County did.

Forlini mentioned that certain issues emerged regarding absentee voter ballots, which needed to be addressed. He stressed the effectiveness of their thorough system of checks and balances and commended his team for the improvements made in the voting process since their last election. Emphasizing the need for continuous betterment, Forlini looked forward to the forthcoming fall elections.

Angela Benander, representing Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, expressed belief in the adherence to proper procedures by the city and county in dealing with the unfortunate logistical issues that had arisen. She acknowledged the backup systems in place and the need to switch to these alternative pathways when called for.

Kinloch, despite the concerns raised, regarded the primary election as a valuable exercise in preparation for the November polls. He attributed part of the delay to the introduction of new technology and equipment, taking a positive stance and expressing hope that the situation will improve in the future.