While state law requires parity, Republican pollers are rare in Michigan’s biggest city, a study from a nonprofit found.
Research released this month showed that Democratic voting workers far outperformed Republican pollers in the precincts of Michigan’s biggest city during the November 2024 election.
Detroit hired 4,176 pollers (also known as election inspectors) in the November 2024 election. Of these, 2,994 were Democrats, 504 were Republicans, and 678 either blanked the party’s line of alliance or marked “undecided.”
A comparison of MFEI studies (12.1%) of the percentage of Republican electoral workers in Detroit in the 2020 general election (3.1%) and in the 2024 general election (12.1%) showed some improvement, but far below the parity required by Michigan law.
Related Stories
The city of Detroit election office declined to comment.
Around the state
In the November 2024 general election in Grand Rapids, Democrats working in the polls accounted for 70% of workers, while Republicans accounted for 26%.
Grand Rapids Deputy Director Jeanesa Smith told the Epoch Times: “Our city clerk, Joel Hondrop, is a Republican, and I want to find a perfect balance between Democrats and Republican elected workers.
Democrat pollers outperformed Warren’s Republicans, up from 65% to 32%. Lansing, 62% to 36%. Ann Arbor, 79% to 19%. At Dearborn, it ranged from 61% to 21%.
Of the cities surveyed, only Sterling Heights, a northern suburb of Detroit, reported statistical equality, with 48.3% of electoral workers being Democrats and 48.3% Republicans.
The survey showed that Sterling Heights hired 144 Democrats and 143 Republican elected workers, indicating that the mission of equal representatives in the state is achievable.
The office of a clerk in Sterling Heights City did not respond to requests for comment at each publication time.
MFEI spokesman Patrice Johnson told the Epoch Times there was no enforcement process, fines or other penalties for partisan disparities.
Residents vote at Masjid Al Fara’s polling station on November 5, 2024, in the suburbs of Detroit in Hamtramuk, Michigan. Davslens photos from the Epoch era
Johnson said citizens who felt they were in their precincts must document the contradictions and fill out the affidavit, saying that the balance is out of balance.
“They need to notify the party leadership and the MFEI. If they are in an election, citizens should call the party’s election night hotline. It also makes sense to show the law politely to election managers or team leaders.”
Research shows that the continued overrepresentation of democratic electoral workers and the pattern of underrepresentation of Republicans reduces bipartisan surveillance, which is deemed “essential to election integrity and public trust.”
Foia’s Timeline
The study also expressed concern about the lack of timely response by some cities to MFEI FOIA requests.
The Act requires staff to respond to FOIA requests within 20 business days.
Researchers at MFEI reported that Grand Rapids took 175 days in this study. Detroit, 115th. Warren, 86th. Ann Arbor, 52-day request. Each of them required repeated reminders.
In contrast, Dearborn met the MFEI requirements on the same day, sterling the height within 7 days, and lansing within 15 days, thereby meeting federal standards.
Neither Michigan’s Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, nor Democrat Attorney General Dana Nessel, responded to requests for comment on each publication time.
