DETROIT (FOX 2) - A joint plan between Michigan's Secretary of State and Detroit's Clerk Janice Winfrey was released Wednesday to address recent absentee voting precinct problems in Detroit.
The major issue was in more than 70% of absentee-voting precincts in the city of Detroit, the number of absentee ballots cast didn't match the number that election workers recorded. It was enough of a problem that the Wayne County Board of Canvassers asked the Secretary of State to step in.
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Partnership between Benson, Winfrey aims to boost support for Detroit election
The partnership announced involves collaborative efforts to recruit and train additional staff and election workers, opening 14 new satellite clerk offices throughout the city and providing additional support to ensure the integrity of the city's absentee ballot tabulation.
"I'm glad to see that the Secretary of State is actually moving on this. I didn't think they would but they are," said Wiliam Hartmann, a member of the Wayne Co. Board of Canvassers.
The plan jointly released by Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey is being dubbed a "partnership" to ensure integrity and accessibility in Detroit during November's general election.
"I certainly hope [it's enough to fix the problem]," Hartmann said. "I mean, right now there's, I'm sure there's multiple things - a combination of training, not following procedures that caused that problem. And if they tighten up their game that should really reduce the amount of precincts being out of balance."
According to the statement, 14 new satellite clerk offices will be opened throughout the city, making a total of 21 across Detroit where voters can register and request and return absentee ballots starting October 5. Thirty secure ballot drop boxes will be installed and at least 6,000 election workers will be recruited and trained, which was by many accounts a big part of the problem.
"What most of us have forgotten is that for three months the country and specifically, the State of Michigan was shut down. So that cut into the training time for election workers," said Jonathan Kinloch, who's also a Wayne Co. Board of Canvassers member.