Antrim County Clerk Victoria Bishop says she has been carrying out a "corrective audit" of local voter rolls, but Michigan's Bureau of Elections says the effort involved abrupt cancellations and status changes that may run afoul of state rules and has ordered her to turn over records and explain what she is doing.
In an April 14 letter, Bureau of Elections Director Jonathan Brater told Bishop to spell out her actions in detail and to provide lists of every voter who was sent a confirmation or cancellation notice. The letter said the bureau had received reports of "concerning activity" in the state's Qualified Voter File, according to Bridge Michigan.
Bishop defended the work in a statement to The Detroit News, calling it a necessary "corrective audit" and saying her 2024 election win gave her a mandate to "prioritize the stewardship and accuracy of the democratic process." She said the notices were aimed at identifying voters who had not cast ballots in recent major elections so township clerks could verify whether they still belong on the rolls.
State demands answers
The bureau's letter says it found records where voters' statuses were flipped to "Cancel" or "Reject" without any local jurisdiction formally delegating that authority. It reminded clerks that "Michigan law is explicit that a clerk may not cancel, or cause the cancellation of, a voter’s registration solely because a voter has missed one or two elections," per Bridge Michigan.
Legal implications
Brater's letter warns that ignoring a lawful instruction from the Secretary of State's Office "might result in a criminal misdemeanor" and that the state could strip a clerk of election-related duties if the actions cannot be justified. The Secretary of State's office told reporters it had not received Bishop's full explanation as of Monday, according to The Detroit News.
For now, state officials say they will review Bishop's response before deciding what to do next. Antrim County had roughly 27,259 registered voters in the 2024 general election, according to Antrim County's official Statement of Votes Cast.
