The results of this year’s general election are now official in Michigan.
The Board of State Canvassers certified victories for President-elect Donald Trump, U.S. Senator-elect Elissa Slotkin and other candidates Friday.
Officials say everything was mostly smooth this year. Though some snags occurred in areas like unofficial result reporting on election night, and the initial tabulating of results.
Michigan Board of State Canvassers chair Mary Ellen Gurewitz said dedicated processes caught any issues as they were intended to do. She said appropriate follow up will occur.
“The procedures are very explicit, and so ensuring that people follow the correct procedure, both the procedure that comes from the bureau and the procedure that comes from the vendor of that particular system,” Gurewitz said following the meeting.
The final turnout for this year’s general election set a record at over 5.7 million votes.
This year’s election certification went relatively smoothly and without drama compared to 2020—when lies and conspiracies about the election being stolen took hold.
Board member Jeannette Bradshaw said the change this year is partly due to more people getting involved in the election process.
“I think that kind of tempered it, too, is because once you see what the process is, you realize that it's not this mystery. Does that make sense? So, the vitriol and the anger, I think, is kind of tempered because people are actually seeing what the process looks like,’ Bradshaw said.
Board members also suggested a reason for the calmer process was that the candidate who pushed many of the election denial conspiracies won this time around, in an allusion to Trump’s refusal to accept his loss in 2020.
“I believe it is not happening this time because the people who protested last time are satisfied with the election,” Gurewitz said.
Ahead of certifying the election results Friday, the board addressed concerns around the risk of non-citizens trying to vote in the election.
This year, the issue arose in Washtenaw County. An international student faces charges after allegedly registering and voting at an early voting site.
Board member Tony Daunt said people shouldn’t start spreading conspiracy theories about the potential for that to happen again. But he said it should be taken seriously.
“Yes, it was just one vote, but that's a significant problem that needs to be addressed right now because it does, I think it rightfully gives people pause and concern,” Daunt said.
During the meeting, Michigan Bureau of Elections Director Jonathan Brater said cases of non-citizen voting are few and far between, and that there are ways for people to see for themselves that non-citizens didn’t vote in an election.
