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Michigan GOP lawmakers subpoena voting-related records

The Michigan Department of State will be expected to provide documents and communications related to Michigan’s primary and general elections by 5 p.m. Monday under subpoenas ordered Saturday by the state’s Senate and House oversight committees.

Senate Oversight Committee Chairman Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Township, told The Detroit News there were “people who claim to be firsthand witnesses of things who say they have observed inappropriate or wrong behaviors going on.”

In a press release issued before Saturday’s joint hearing of the committees, McBroom said the effort is to ensure the integrity of state elections.

“Pouring gas on every potential fear and spreading doubt about the integrity of the system is not the answer, nor is ignoring troubling reports and dismissing out of hand anecdotal evidence that problems may exist,” he said.

Rep. Cynthia Johnson, D-Detroit, described the Republicans’ move as “crazy.”

“This is nothing more than political theater,” she said.

Secretary of State spokesperson Jake Rollow said most of the information Republicans are seeking already is publicly available.

Committee members said they have questions about polling places and a mass mailing that included absentee ballot applications.

“This is not about one candidate or one election,” said state Rep. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain. “This action will allow us to examine our election process for the future, so people can have full faith in the system.”

LaFave said absentee ballot applications were sent to individuals who did not live at the address. “People I’ve talked to want to know why this happened,” he said. “This is the first time Michigan has allowed day-of registrations for elections. How did that go?”

Rollow said the absentee ballot mailing was upheld in court. “Our election was conducted fairly, accurately, and transparently, and the results reflect the will of Michigan voters,” he said.

LaFave also pointed to results in Antrim County that initially showed that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden had won. However, there was a discrepancy and the results were later changed.

The issue occurred because of an error by the Antrim County clerk, who failed to update software used to collect data from voting machines, the Michigan Department of State said Friday.

“Other counties used the same software as this county in question,” LaFave said. “This is something worth looking into. If it turns out everything was on the up and up, that’s totally fine.”

In an interview with Bridge Michigan, Bob LaBrant, a retired GOP attorney who served as the Michigan Chamber of Commerce’s legal counsel from 1978 to 2012, said he believes “it’s a scurrilous charge that somehow there was corruption.”

He noted House Republicans will return their 58-52 majority based on outcomes from the voting system they are now scrutinizing. GOP candidates also won three statewide positions for educational governing boards and protected all seven of the party’s congressional seats, he said.

“If the Democrats were engaged in wholesale voter fraud, they sure did a pretty lousy job,” said LaBrant, who opposed President Donald Trump’s re-election.

Michigan legislative committees issuing subpoenas, while not unheard of, is rare, according to The Detroit Free Press.

Critics of the committee’s inquiry note that legislative subpoena power wasn’t used when Flint residents were exposed to toxic water, nor when the state’s unemployment insurance agency falsely accused tens of thousands of residents of fraud.

Also, no subpoenas were issued when Trump won Michigan by 10,704 votes in 2016.

Biden’s unofficial margin of victory in Michigan was 146,119 votes.

Bill Ballenger, who served as a Republican in the state Legislature from 1969-1974 before starting a political newsletter, told Bridge Michigan he has no recollection of previous subpoenas.

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