OVER THESE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS AND THEY WERE TALKING TO YOU EVERY COUPLE OF HOURS. I THINK,
THANKS FOR THE TIME. SURE I WANT
TO TURN TO WHAT OUR EXPECTATIONS
SHOULD BE NOW FOR ELECTION
NIGHT. WE’RE WATCHING THIS HUGE
RETURN OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS
MOVING PAST HALF A MILLION. SO
FAR, CLERKS ARE BEING ALLOWED TO
START PROCESSING THOSE ABSENTEES
EARLY, BUT SOME MICHIGAN CLERKS
ARE CHOOSING NOT TO DO THAT.
LET’S TALK ABOUT WHAT IS COMING
WITH ANTHONY FOR LANEY, THE
MACOMB COUNTY CLERK, AND BARB
BYRUM, THE CLERK FROM INGHAM
COUNTY. SO GLAD TO HAVE YOU BOTH
HERE. I KNOW YOU’RE GETTING
READY FOR YOUR PRACTICALLY IN
TRAINING HERE FOR WHAT’S GOING
TO BE A CRAZY COUPLE. OF WEEKS
STRETCH HERE BUT ANTHONY, LET ME
START WITH YOU AND WHAT YOU’RE
AS YOU’RE WATCHING THE NUMBER OF
ABSENTEE BALLOTS COMING IN. ARE
YOU PLANNING ON PROCESSING THEM
EARLY? WELL AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW
, THE CLERKS AT THE COUNTY LEVEL
DO NOT PROCESS THE ABSENTEE
BALLOTS ARE LOCAL CLERKS DO
THAT, HOWEVER, EXACTLY. WE’RE
NOT. WE’RE NOT. YOU KNOW, IN
2018, WE HAVE 58% OF THE OF THE
BALLOTS WERE ARE THE ELECTORATE
VOTED? THAT WAS A BIG YEAR FOR
US. I THINK ABSENTEE BALLOTS ARE
GOING TO COME INTO PLAY. THIS
TIME. IT’S GOING TO BE EVEN MORE
IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE ABSENTEE
BELL OR THE BALLOTS THEMSELVES
ARE SO LONG. THERE’S SO MANY
PROPOSALS SO MUCH TO READ. UM
I’VE GOT TO TELL YOU I REALLY
ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO GET OUT AND
TAKE A LOOK AT THESE BALLOTS
AHEAD OF TIME BEFORE THEY GET TO
THE POLLS BECAUSE WHEN THEY DO
IT TO THE POLLS, I THINK THERE’S
GONNA BE LONGER LINES BECAUSE OF
THE LENGTH OF THE BALLOT. BARB,
WHAT ARE YOU HEARING FROM CLERKS
IN INGHAM COUNTY? ARE THEY GOING
TO BE PROCESSING EARLY? THANK
YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. SO IN
INGHAM COUNTY, ONLY THREE OF MY
LOCAL CLERKS WILL BE PROCESSING
EARLY, AND I THINK IT’S
IMPERATIVE THAT WE TALK ABOUT
WHAT PROCESSING EARLY LOOKS LIKE
IN THE GREAT STATE OF MICHIGAN
BECAUSE IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE
PRESS ICING LIKE EARLY
PROCESSING LOOKS AND OTHER
STATES IN MICHIGAN, THE
LEGISLATURE IS ALLOWING THOSE
LOCAL CLERKS THAT GOT PERMISSION
AHEAD OF TIME ARE ABOVE A
CERTAIN POPULATION TO START
OPENING ENVELOPES, REMOVING THE
CONTENTS OF THE ENVELOPES AND
THEN COMPARE. IN THOSE BALLOT
NUMBERS ON THE BALLOT STUB TO
THE BALLOT NUMBER ISSUE TO THAT
VOTER, AND THAT’S IT. SO THAT IS
THE MICHIGAN VERSION OF
PROCESSING EARLY. BASICALLY JUST
KIND OF GETTING STARTED ON WHAT
IS THEN A LONGER PROCESS, BUT I
WANT TO LET YOU BOTH WEIGH IN.
THEN ON HOW YOU EXPECT THE NIGHT
TO LOOK, WE ALREADY KNOW FROM
THIS PAST WEEK, THE CITY OF
DETROIT IS MAKING AN EFFORT TO
DO ABSENTEES FIRST TO GET RID OF
WHICH WHICH, I GUESS WILL THROW
A WRENCH INTO WHAT SOME REFER TO
THE LAST TIME AS THE RED MIRAGE
BECAUSE WE HAD IN PERSON BALLOTS
OPENING BEING COUNTED FIRST,
ANTHONY AND THEN THE ABSENTEES
CAME IN, AND PEOPLE SENSE THAT
THERE WAS A SHIFT THAT FELT UM I
GUESS TO SOME LIKE SOMETHING
FUNNY WAS GOING ON WHEN IT WAS
JUST THE VOTES THE WAY THEY WERE
BEING COUNTED. BUT ANTHONY
TALKED ABOUT THOSE WHAT YOU
EXPECT IT TO LOOK LIKE. WELL I
THINK THIS YEAR IS EVEN BE
LOOKING DIFFERENT YET BECAUSE
THE STATE OF MICHIGAN AT LEAST
IN MACOMB COUNTY, ANYBODY THAT
UPGRADED THEIR SOFTWARE FOR THE
TABULATOR, UM ARE NO LONGER ABLE
TO MODEM THE RESULTS IN SO NOW
WE ARE GETTING A RESULTS IN
TOGETHER THAT WHEN THE CLERKS
BRING THE RESULTS TO US, WE HAVE
THE ABSENTEE BALLOTS AS WELL AS
THE TABULATOR IS IN PERSON.
THOSE WILL BE COUNTED AT THE
SAME TIME AND BROUGHT IN AT THE
SAME TIME, SO WE’RE NOT
EXPECTING THAT THERE’S GOING TO
BE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE
TWO BECAUSE THEY’RE BEING
BROUGHT IN TOGETHER ABOUT YOU.
SO IN ENGLAND COUNTY. WE HAVE
NEVER USED MODEMS, SO THAT IS
NOT THAT’S NOT GOING TO CHANGE
FOR THE PRESS AND THE PUBLIC
THAT ARE HITTING. REFRESH
CONSTANTLY ON MY WEBSITE. WHAT
WE ARE SEEING IS THAT FOR THE
STATE 1.6 MILLION INDIVIDUAL
VOTERS HAVE ALREADY REQUESTED
THEIR BALLOT. BY THE TIME
ELECTION DAY COMES COMES WE
EXPECT ABOUT TWO MILLION VOTERS
THAT WILL VOTE BY ABSENTEE
BALLOT. HISTORICALLY WE KNOW
EVEN AS FAR BACK AS AUGUST
ELECTION BETWEEN 65 70% OF THE
VOTE TOTAL IS DONE BY ABSENTEE
BALLOT, SO WE’RE STILL GOING TO
SEE A LOT OF A V ABSENT VOTER
BALLOTS COMING IN. AND THOSE
CLERKS UNDER MICHIGAN LAW NOT
START TABULATING THOSE BALLOTS
UNTIL POLLS OPEN ON ELECTION
DAY, THEY CAN DO THE PRE
PROCESSING MICHIGAN STYLE, BUT
THEY CANNOT START TABULATING
UNTIL POLLS OPEN ON ELECTION
DAY. LET ME LET YOU BOTH WEIGH
IN ON THE SHIFT THAT WE HAVE
WATCHED IN YEARS PAST EARLY
VOTERS AND ABSENTEE VOTERS WERE
BY AND LARGE, OVERWHELMINGLY
REPUBLICAN, AND THAT IS CHANGED
DRAMATICALLY, AND IT SEEMS TO BE
CHANGING KIND OF. I MEAN, ALL
THESE VOTES SHOULD COUNT. AND
YET THE WAY THAT WE VOTE SEEMS
TO BE KIND OF BECOMING
POLITICIZED. IN A WEIRD WAY,
ANTHONY UH, BUT I THINK THAT WAS
AN ANOMALY. IN THE LAST
ELECTION. I WOULD HOPE THAT’S
NOT THE CASE THIS TIME AROUND. I
BELIEVE THERE WILL BE A BALANCE
A BETTER BALANCE THAN THERE
MIGHT HAVE BEEN TWO YEARS AGO. I
WILL SEE WE’LL SEE. BARBARA
ABOUT YOU. I AM ENCOURAGING
EVERY QUALIFIED REGISTERED VOTER
TO EXERCISE THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE
EITHER IN PERSON, OR A B,
WHICHEVER IS MOST CONVENIENT FOR
THEM. MAKE SURE YOU GET THOSE
BALLOTS. IF YOU ARE VOTING BY
ABSENTEE BALLOT. GET THAT BALLOT
TO YOUR LOCAL CLERK NO LATER
THAN BY THE TIME POLLS CLOSED ON
ELECTION DAY. AND LASTLY, GIVE
ME YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR HOW
ELECTION DAY WILL FEEL AND BEAT
FOR YOU GUYS FOR ON THE WORK
SIDE OF ALL OF THIS BECAUSE IT
CERTAINLY LOOKS LIKE AT LEAST IF
THE ABSENTEE IS ANY WAY FOR US
TO GAUGE WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN.
IT’S MORE THAN TWICE WHAT WE SAW
REQUESTED. THE LAST TIME WE HAD
A MIDTERM ELECTION BACK IN 2018
, ANTHONY YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR
WHAT’S AHEAD. I EXPECT A
COMPLETELY CLEAN CRISP. TIMELY
ELECTION. HOW’S THAT? LOVE IT
AND I REALLY BELIEVE THAT WE’VE
GOT SOME VERY GOOD QUALIFIED
CLERKS IN MACOMB COUNTY IS I’M
SURE IT’S AN AM COUNTY
THROUGHOUT THE STATE, SO I
REALLY BELIEVE THAT WHAT WE’RE
GOING TO SEE THIS TIME IS VERY
EXCITED ELECTORATE GETTING OUT
VOTING, HOWEVER THEY VOTE. IT
DOES SEEM TO BE SUPERCHARGED AT
THE MOMENT, BARBARA A LOT MORE
THAN WE ARE TYPICALLY SEE IN A
MIDTERM ELECTION. THAT IS VERY
TRUE, AND I EXPECT IT TO BE A
LONG, STRESSFUL NIGHT, BUT I
KNOW THAT MICHIGAN’S 1500 CLERKS
CERTIFIED ELECTION PROFESSIONALS
STAND READY TO MAKE A SAFE, FAIR
AND ACCESSIBLE ELECTIONS. BUT WE
KIND OF HAVE DEVELOPED THIS IDEA
THAT WE SHOULD KNOW WINNERS ON
LATE ON ELECTION NIGHT AND THAT,
UM, THAT MIGHT BE TESTED THIS
YEAR CORRECT. I’LL LET YOU BOTH
TALK ABOUT. WE’VE ALWAYS ONLY
POSTED UNOFFICIAL RESULTS AND
THOSE UNOFFICIAL RESULTS STILL
HAVE TO BE CANVASSED AND
ULTIMATELY CERTIFIED BY THE
BOARD OF CANVASSERS IN EVERY
COUNTY, WHICH IS MADE UP OF TWO
DEMOCRATS AND TWO REPUBLICANS.
SO HOLD TIGHT. WE HAVE TO MAKE
SURE THAT EVERY LEGAL VOTE CAST
IS COUNTED. ANTHONY AND I’M 100%
I THINK IT’S THE MEDIA THAT
REALLY, REALLY WANTS THOSE
RESULTS SUPER EARLY AND I GET IT
AND I GET IT AND WE TRY TO DO
EVERYTHING WE CAN TO GET THOSE
RESULTS IN QUICKLY. BUT LIKE
BARB SAYS, WE WANT THEM
ACCURATELY WANT HIM RIGHT AND WE
WANT TO BE ABLE TO STAND BEHIND
OUR RESULTS. AND I THINK THAT’S
WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO SEE THIS
TIME AROUND POINT ABOUT THE
MEDIA, AND THAT’S WHAT I’M
TRYING TO DO HERE IS HELP WITH A
LITTLE BIT OF EXPECTATION.
MANAGEMENT NOW YOU’RE EXACTLY
RIGHT. WE’RE CHAMPING AT THE BIT