MICHIGAN, USA —
Local officials are still confident in Michigan’s election system after X posts and a lawsuit calling into question the state’s voter roll and registered voters.
Last weekend, billionaire and X CEO Elon Musk quoted a post on X, which claimed Michigan has 100,000 more registered voters than eligible citizens, and asked if it was true.
Michigan’s Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson quoted Musk’s post with one of her own, saying that Musk is “spreading dangerous disinformation.”
“Here are the facts:” Benson wrote on X, “There aren’t more voters than citizens in Michigan. There are 7.2 million active registered voters and 7.9 citizens of voting age in our state. // Musk is pushing a misleading number that includes 1.2 million inactive records slated for removal in accordance with the law. // Don’t feed the trolls. Get trusted info at http://Michigan.gov/ElectionFacts”
Musk then responded, calling Benson by her full name and saying she “blatantly [lied] to the public.” He claimed Benson was only going to remove ineligible voters after the election.
Jocelyn directed Musk to the state’s election facts website, but he countered and asked if she was going to remove ineligible voters before the election.
She then directed Musk to the Secretary of State’s election page.
While there is some truth with the state having more registered voters than eligible citizens, there’s a reason for it. There is a period of time when an inactive voter’s registration can be canceled.
When someone dies in the state, they are immediately taken off Michigan’s Qualified Voter File. However, registrations for inactive voters can only be canceled once it passes the legally required two-federal election cycle period.
The state has a dashboard where you can view voter registration statistics. As of Oct. 23, there are over 8.4 million registered voters in Michigan, but only 7.2 million are active.
In 2025, over 300,000 inactive voter registrations are slated for cancellation. In 2027, there will be over 200,000 more.
Muskegon County Clerk Karen D. Buie said looking at the numbers is simply a glimpse of what’s happening.
“What happens sometimes when you have individuals who are looking at numbers, and the qualified voter file changes every minute,” Buie said. “I mean, because people are being taken off the rolls for moving. And it may have 178,000 people on it at 10 o'clock in the morning. And then you look again at 11, and the numbers change, because it's a fluid. People are moving. People are the clerks from around the state are sending in death certificates, sending in moving information. So it's fluid, the numbers are never the same. So if you get a snapshot of when you're looking at the voter rolls and the numbers, it's not going to look the same later on that day.”
A federal lawsuit involving Benson and Jonathan Brater, Director of the Michigan Bureau of Elections, was dismissed Wednesday. It included claims similar to Musk's.
The lawsuit claimed the parties violated the National Voter Registration Act, which requires a State to “conduct a general program that makes a reasonable effort to remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters.” It was filed by the Republican National Committee (RNC) and two individual voters.
The federal judge said the defendants' motion to dismiss the case was granted. Motions to intervene and the related motion for an extension of time in the case were dismissed as moot. The judge said the lawsuit did not have standing and there was failure to state a plausible claim.
Despite the challenges, Buie has full faith in the state’s electoral process.
“Our state system is one of the most secure systems in the state of in the country, really, because we have those safeguards in place that local municipalities cannot remove voters without prior authorization from the state, and it's only done at the state level that our system is secure people aren't voting that aren't supposed to vote,” Buie said.
She said in Muskegon County, there are opportunities to sit in a public viewing area and watch the entire voting process. She also encourages voters to volunteer and become part of the process.
“I think if people would do that, would come in and and and volunteer and be a part of the process, I think we would eliminate the majority of the questions and the insecurities that people have about their election process,” she said, “Don't be a problem. Be a solution to the problem.”
Early in-person voting starts in Michigan this weekend and will go until election day on Nov. 5.
In a statement to 13 ON YOUR SIDE, the Michigan Department of State said:
"Elon Musk has been spreading dangerous misinformation. Michigan has approximately 7.2 million active registered voters and a voting age population of approximately 7.9 million. The state’s voter rolls are maintained in accordance with state and federal law.
In fact, Michigan has done more in last five years to improve the accuracy of our voter rolls than in the previous two decades. Since 2019 we have cancelled more than 800,000 voter registrations and identified more than 600,000 slated for cancellation in 2025 and 2027 once the legally required two-federal election cycle period has passed. Federal data from the Election Assistance Commission also shows that Michigan is one of the most active states in removing the registrations of voters who have died – ranking fifth in the nation.
There is absolutely no evidence that inactive voter registrations are being used to fraudulently cast ballots in Michigan election. Anyone with evidence of this or any other election crime should report it to local, state, or federal law enforcement."