According to a Michigan official, around 300 absentee ballots from the 2020 election were discovered in a storage unit in Genesee County.
Just the News reported on Friday that Thetford Township Supervisor Rachel Stanke found the ballots thanks to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Stanke then brought the issue to the attention of the township board and the residents.
Stanke told Mid-Michigan NOW: “Two-hundred and eighty-nine absentee ballots were found in a storage unit in downtown Clio.”
Stanke learned about the possible existence of the missing ballots in 2021 and informed both the state’s attorney general and secretary of state.
She eventually reported the issue to the Michigan State Police after receiving tips about the ballots and some “old township documents” that were discovered.
The FOIA records reportedly stated that a former township worker rented the unit and kept the boxes inside.
“She was not aware when she put it in there. She was asked to store it in there. She just thought it was old township documents,” Stanke clarified.
Mid-Michigan NOW reported that in August, state police recovered the ballots in question. The agency is investigating now the matter.
Stanke stated her intention for citizens to be informed about the discovery, empowering them to closely monitor future elections.
Katie Hicks, who was defeated by 19 votes in the Thetford Township Clerk election in 2020, expressed her satisfaction that the matter is being brought to public attention because “the election is right around the corner again. And it concerns me that this will take place again for 2024.”
Meanwhile, Click on Detroit reported in February 2020 that Michigan clerks encountered a wave of absentee ballots.
“We have seen a 75 percent increase in applications for absentee ballots. So far, clerks this year have sent out 776,000 absentee ballots to Michigan voters across the state,” Jake Rollow said, Director of Communications for the Secretary of State at the time.
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