House bill seeks forensic audit of 2020 Michigan election

(The Center Square) – A new bill introduced Tuesday in the Michigan House of Representatives seeks a forensic audit of last November’s election.

Introduced by State Rep. Steve Carra, R-Three Lakes, House Bill 5091 aims to create an audit board to review the 2020 election as well as identify corrective actions to improve Michigan’s ongoing election processes. A bipartisan audit board would be required to name a nonpartisan corporation to conduct the audit.

“A thorough, bipartisan review will help us identify what works, what doesn’t, and how to make our elections secure and accessible for every Michigan voter,” Carra said in a statement. “I know my colleagues on both sides of the aisle care about secure elections that the voters can trust; my plan will help ensure Michigan elections are fair, honest and accurate.”

One key component of Carra’s bill is the establishment of an audit board, which would consist of seven members: the state auditor general or the auditor general’s designee, one each appointed by the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House of Representatives and Senate, and one election challenger for the 2020 general election from each of the two major political parties.

The board also would be tasked with an audit of the November 2020 election, including auditing a random selection of 20% of precincts from every city with more than 500,000 residents as well as 10% of precincts from each county.

Every step of the audit would be electronically recorded.

“Transparency is an important responsibility of the Michigan Legislature,” Carra said. “As the people’s elected representatives responsible for setting election laws for our state, we have a duty to ensure that our elections are conducted properly, and a forensic audit will help us move forward together.”

The audit would also review what procedures the Secretary of State’s office followed when it mailed out unsolicited absentee ballot applications in 2020.

Poll books, ballots and vote tallies would be analyzed to determine:

When each poll book was generatedWhether any electronic pool book was connected to a network after it was downloadedWhether any changes were made to a poll bookWhether there were any recorded challenges from an election challenger

The audit of ballots would log:

The total number of ballots printedThe number of absentee ballots returned by mailThe time a clerk received each absentee ballot returned on Election Day and when local clerks delivered absentee ballots for signature verification and tabulation

Electronic voting systems used to tabulate ballots in each precinct would also be subjected to an audit, which would include a detailed log of each vote tally transfer.

Another auditor would be charged with maintenance of the state’s Qualified Voter File, including analyzing current methods of ensuring accurate and up-to-date voter rolls.

A House fiscal analysis hasn’t been conducted yet, so the costs of enacting the bill remain undetermined.

If passed, the bill would require the audit to begin within 45 days, grant 90 days for completion, and another two weeks to complete and submit a final report.

Tracy Wimmer, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of State, however, argues HB 5091 would be a waste of taxpayer money.

“This bill is yet another attempt to perpetuate the Big Lie, this time proposing to waste millions of taxpayer dollars in order to do so,” Wimmer told The Center Square.

“More than 250 audits have been conducted across the state by officials on both sides of the aisle and nonpartisan election workers, and every single one confirmed the accuracy of the results and the integrity of our election system,” she said, adding: “The term forensic audit does not appear anywhere in Michigan election law, underscoring the real intention of this bill is to continue frothing enthusiasm amongst fringe conspiracy theory advocates who are unhappy with the outcome of the election and refuse to admit the truth: that the election was safe, secure and an accurate reflection of the will of the people.”

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