Michigan Voter Roll Concerns Disputed Amid Claims from Republican Officials

Michigan Election Officials Clash Over Alleged Voter Roll Irregularities

Anti-voting activists and a Republican county election official have recently made serious allegations about Michigan’s voter rolls, claiming that noncitizens are illegally registered to vote in the state. However, election experts are pushing back, arguing these claims rely on cherry-picked data and are politically motivated to undermine Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a leading Democratic gubernatorial candidate.

Anthony Forlini, the Republican Macomb County Clerk who is running for secretary of state, announced this week that his office had identified 239 alleged noncitizens who were selected for possible jury duty service. Upon cross-checking with county voter rolls, Forlini claimed at least 14 of these individuals were registered to vote at some point.

“The fact we have discovered this egregious flaw indicates to me that there may be a much larger issue throughout the State that needs investigation,” Forlini stated in a press release that quickly gained traction in conservative circles.

Secretary Benson told Democracy Docket that her office is investigating Forlini’s claims but suggested he may be misreading or misrepresenting data. “It’s not clear that the data that the county clerk is referring to has been clearly and rigorously analyzed to ensure the allegations that he’s making have any merit to it,” Benson said.

Despite limited evidence confined to Macomb County, Forlini’s allegations have resonated among right-wing influencers. Conservative activist Scott Presler shared the press release on social media, falsely claiming that Benson “has allegedly allowed for non-citizens to register to vote.” The claims even caught the attention of Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who hinted at potential Department of Justice involvement.

David Becker, executive director of The Center for Election Innovation & Research and a former DOJ Civil Rights Division attorney, criticized Forlini’s approach. “It is much more likely that these people are committing fraud on the courts with regard to sitting as jurors, than fraud on elections,” Becker said. “And to release this information without actually trying to see whether or not the jury lists are inaccurate, or the voter lists are inaccurate, is pretty irresponsible — and obviously for political purposes.”

Michigan’s jury selection draws from driver’s license applicants, a database maintained by Benson’s office. While noncitizens can legally obtain driver’s licenses in Michigan, they cannot vote or serve on juries. The Secretary of State’s office is responsible for ensuring voter eligibility.

Benson’s office conducted its own statewide review in April 2025, comparing driving and voting records. The results showed that only 0.00028% of the more than 5.7 million votes cast in 2024 were potentially illegally cast by noncitizens.

“Michigan likely has some of the most accurate voter lists in the country,” Becker noted. “They check every box on everything states should do from a best practice perspective. They give automatic voter registration. They integrate DMV with their voter lists in a way that very few states do.”

Becker also pointed out that mismatched or outdated data could lead to false conclusions, especially if analyzed with political motives. Additionally, he suggested that the initial data on noncitizens in the jury pool might be unreliable because people sometimes falsely claim noncitizen status to avoid jury duty.

“If it’s news to this Macomb County Clerk that a lot of people like to get out of jury duty and are willing to say anything to get out of jury duty, there’s a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode I can show them,” Becker said. “That’s not to say that it’s okay. But it’s not election fraud. It’s probably fraud in the courts.”

Forlini’s allegations follow similar claims by the Cleta Mitchell-tied anti-voting group Michigan Fair Elections Institute, which recently published an investigation claiming more than 60,000 voter registrations don’t match Social Security Administration data. Election experts say this investigation similarly creates a misleading narrative by using incomplete data snapshots.

Benson expressed concern about the broader information landscape: “One of the biggest challenges of our time is the devolution of how people are getting accurate information. It’s becoming harder and harder for citizens to get access to reliable information on anything. And we’re seeing, as a result, a lot of conspiracy theories grow.”

These accusations come amid Michigan’s increasingly polarized political environment, with Benson herself becoming the target of election deniers who allege she’s manipulating voter rolls to benefit her campaign.

“All of this is playing out in a hyper-partisan, politically driven environment,” Benson said. “The specifics of voter registration maintenance and accuracy can oftentimes be lost or confused with a number of other databases and specifics that overall make something very difficult to even investigate or allege.”