Michigan clerk audit alarms officials

Michigan election officials are challenging Antrim County Clerk Victoria Bishop after the state said her self-described “corrective audit” may have illegally changed voter registrations. (mlive.com) The Michigan Bureau of Elections told Bishop in an April 2026 letter that it had received reports she sent confirmation and cancellation notices to voters who skipped the last two major elections and changed records in the state’s Qualified Voter File. State officials said those actions “fall outside the scope” of her authority. (interlochenpublicradio.org) Bishop, a Republican elected in 2024 and in office since 2025, said she was carrying out a countywide review to clean up voter records and argued local clerks had failed to remove ineligible entries. Antrim County had about 27,200 registered voters in 2024, according to reporting on the dispute. (detroitnews.com) Michigan law does allow post-election audits, but those are public reviews of ballots, poll books and procedures after an election — not independent voter-roll purges by a county clerk. State law and Michigan’s audit rules say those audits are meant to test accuracy, review procedures and develop training when problems are found. (verifiedvoting.org, michigan.gov) That distinction matters in Antrim County because the county became a national symbol of 2020 election falsehoods after an initial reporting error briefly showed Joe Biden ahead before officials corrected the unofficial tally and confirmed Donald Trump had won there. The episode turned the county into a recurring target for election-fraud claims even after reviews found no evidence the machines had switched votes. (bridgemi.com, cbc.ca) The Bureau of Elections said a clerk cannot cancel a voter registration solely because that voter missed one or two elections. The state also said a county clerk cannot alter local voter records without an agreement or delegated authority from the city or township that controls those registrations. (9and10news.com) Bishop has defended the effort as a lawful records review and said voters received notices rather than immediate removals in every case. State officials and local election workers, according to multiple reports, say the activity triggered alarms because changes in the voter file can affect whether a person appears active when they show up to vote. (detroitnews.com, mlive.com) Michigan has expanded post-election checks since voters approved Proposal 2018-3, and the Bureau of Elections said it conducted nearly 500 recounts, ballot audits and procedural audits after the 2024 general election. Those reviews, released on October 13, 2025, said Michigan’s election results were secure and accurate. (michigan.gov) What happens next is narrower than the rhetoric around it: the state wants records, an explanation and compliance with Michigan election law. The bigger test for Antrim County is whether officials can settle the dispute without adding another chapter to a county already central to Michigan’s election mistrust. (interlochenpublicradio.org, bridgemi.com)