The ACLU of Michigan said a coalition of voting rights groups is fully prepared for potential midterm election interference.
That's as Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel responded to a U.S. Justice Department announcement that it will be sending federal election monitors to seven cities in Michigan, including Detroit.
Officials said they have been practicing how to react if there are reports of unlawful election interference.
"We've gamed out nearly 25 potential scenarios and have rapid response strategies that we'll urgently deploy to ensure that our elections are protected and that our democracy remains intact," said Jessica Ayoub, the ACLU's deputy political director, who also manages the 100 voting rights groups involved in the Michigan Election Protection Program.
Ayoub said she wouldn't reveal all the 25 scenarios, but one they're prepared for is a county board of canvassers refusing to certify results — as nearly happened in Wayne County in 2020.
"Canvassers double-check the math. They do not police our elections," Ayoub said. "If any county canvas board does not follow the law, we have plans in place to address this immediately. And canvassers who defy the law also face potential criminal liability."
For her part, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said federal Department of Justice monitors are a standard part of Michigan's election process.
"We anticipate they will comport with state and federal law just as they did in this year’s August Primary," Nessel said in a statement. "But make no mistake, my office stands ready to hold accountable those who attempt to unlawfully interfere with or intimidate Michigan voters or election workers, regardless of who they may be.”
The scope of the DOJ's election monitoring does not appear to be standard, however. Reuters reported on Thursday that the DOJ’s plans to deploy about 1,000 monitors in all 50 states on Election Day was roughly triple the number in the last midterm election, making the deployment the largest observation effort in the department’s history.
In Michigan, federal officers will observe the election process in Detroit, East Lansing, Flint, Grand Rapids, Hamtramck, Lansing, and Warren, the DOJ said.
Like any other poll watcher, DOJ monitors cannot speak with voters, touch election equipment or ballots, or interfere with the administration of the election, state officials said.
Chris Thomas, Michigan's former elections director, and now a consultant for the city of Detroit Elections Division, said Detroit has worked diligently to make sure what happened in 2020 can't happen again.
During the count in that election in Huntington Place, an angry crowd of people wanting to monitor the count banged on the windows, demanding entry and shouting "Stop the Count!" despite officials announcing the room had reached its capacity limit.
After the count was submitted to the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, the two Republican canvassers tried to use a mismatch in some precincts between registered voters in the poll books and actual votes cast, as a pretext for initially refusing to certify the votes cast by Detroiters.
"All the nonsense raised was just that: nonsense," Thomas said. "But after these false claims and disruptions that ensued in 2020, we have added more protocols to [avoid unbalanced counts] to inoculate against those trying to sow doubt against our elections. We increased security measures to deter disruption, to prevent unauthorized people from entering the central count board in Huntington Place."
"Election officials across the state have adopted similar protocols to secure the election," said Thomas.
Early voting begins statewide on Saturday, and runs through Sunday, November 1. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.
The online registration deadline has passed, but unregistered voters in Michigan can also register in person within 14 days of an election, and on Election Day, by visiting their local clerk's office.
