Opinion Please: Michigan Voter Statistics, 2020

[Tuur]

Stumbled across this today while fact checking information from elsewhere. It's voter turnout statistics from Michigan. Note the website belongs to the government of the State of Michigan and not some fringe site:

https://www.michigan.gov/sos/-/media/Project/Websites/sos/Election-Results-and-Statistics/General-Voter-Reg-Turnout-Stats.pdf

In particular, look at the statistics for 2020. 5,579,317 votes were cast out of 7,151,051 active registered voters. There was a voting age population of 7,914,600. There was also 8,105,524 registered voters.

Question: How was it that there were more registered voters in Michigan in 2020 than those of voting age? What is the official explanation?

 

[JosephZ]

How was it that there were more registered voters in Michigan in 2020 than those of voting age? What is the official explanation?

This is from 2022, but it explains the reason for the higher number of registered voters to those of voting age.


On Election Day, the number of registered voters swelled in the state to more than 8.2 million people, an increase of roughly 750,000 from October 2018. That's three times the rate of the increase in votes.

But wait, we don't have 8.2 million people 18 and older living in Michigan.

Correct. Among those 8.2 million registered voters only 7.3 million are active, according to the Secretary of State's Office. And more than 500,000 inactive voter registrations are slated for removal by 2025.

Before cancellation, clerks are required to send a notice to the voter's Michigan address. If there is no response or voting activity within two November elections held in even-numbered years the registration is canceled.

It's better to err on the side of caution, Baybeck said. "If you want to make voting easy and get people to vote, then you should keep them on the rolls.

Michigan sets records in midterm voting. Turnout is another story.

More Michiganders are registered to vote than ever before and more people voted — more than half of the state's voting-age population.

www.freep.com

 

[SavedByGrace3]

Stumbled across this today while fact checking information from elsewhere. It's voter turnout statistics from Michigan. Note the website belongs to the government of the State of Michigan and not some fringe site:

https://www.michigan.gov/sos/-/media/Project/Websites/sos/Election-Results-and-Statistics/General-Voter-Reg-Turnout-Stats.pdf

In particular, look at the statistics for 2020. 5,579,317 votes were cast out of 7,151,051 active registered voters. There was a voting age population of 7,914,600. There was also 8,105,524 registered voters.

Question: How was it that there were more registered voters in Michigan in 2020 than those of voting age? What is the official explanation?

States may not remove deceased or relocated voters from their roles.

 

[Tuur]

States may not remove deceased or relocated voters from their roles.

That's incorrect. I like to joke that if there was a zombie apocalypse that the dead would head to the polls from force of habit, but states can and do remove the deceased from voting lists. If you look at the link provided, a surplus of registered voters didn't appear until 2020. Even then, it wasn't an enormous overage. If state could not remove deceased or relocated voters from the rolls, then the difference would have been far greater. Michigan has been a state since 1837, and if it could not remove deceased voters, then the dead on the list would likely outnumber the living.

Besides which, in the post above, note that Michigan claims that 500,000 are slated for removal by 2025. So yes, states can and do remove deceased and relocated voters from the rolls.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

That's incorrect. I like to joke that if there was a zombie apocalypse that the dead would head to the polls from force of habit, but states can and do remove the deceased from voting lists. If you look at the link provided, a surplus of registered voters didn't appear until 2020. Even then, it wasn't an enormous overage. If state could not remove deceased or relocated voters from the rolls, then the difference would have been far greater. Michigan has been a state since 1837, and if it could not remove deceased voters, then the dead on the list would likely outnumber the living.

Besides which, in the post above, note that Michigan claims that 500,000 are slated for removal by 2025. So yes, states can and do remove deceased and relocated voters from the rolls.

I basically got bored listing these. I could go on for hours if not days.

https://www.npr.org/2012/02/14/146827471/study-1-8-million-dead-people-still-registered-to-vote

Study: 1.8 million dead people registered to vote nationwide and other errors

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Some 24 million voter registrations in the United States contain significant errors, including about 1.8 million dead people still on the rolls and many more approved to vot…

www.jacksonville.com

Election Watchdog Finds 350,000 Dead Registrants on Voter Rolls In 42 States

An election watchdog, The Public Interest Legal Foundation, has found 350,000 potentially dead individuals on voter rolls in 42 states.

freebeacon.com

More than 190K names removed from Georgia voter roll ahead of 2024 election

A total of 191,473 voter records were placed into “inactive status” this year.

www.atlantanewsfirst.com

Virginia discovers nearly 19,000 dead people on voter rolls

As Virginia election officials work to clean up the state’s voter rolls, they announced the discovery of a huge number of dead people still listed as registered voters in the

www.insidenova.com

https://www.kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=SOS&prId=506

Thousands of dead Kentuckians removed from voter rolls since 2020

More than 150,000 deceased people were de-registered from voting in Kentucky.

www.whas11.com

Michigan’s Secretary of State Fights to Keep Dead on Voter Rolls

In an order that illustrates the bizarre views of controversial Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a federal court has turned down Benson’s motion to throw out a lawsuit filed against her for refusing to remove almost 26,000 dead voters from Michigan voters rolls.

www.heritage.org

Michigan defends bloated voter rolls with 625,000 cancellations pending | Bridge Michigan

Michigan election officials say they’re working to stop 'undue challenges' from Trump supporters seeking to cancel voter registrations based on pervasive theories of potential fraud.

www.bridgemi.com

Over 400,000 Kentucky Voters Have Been Removed From Voter Rolls Since 2020

More than 223,000 were considered dead voters

www.leoweekly.com

https://www.politico.com/story/2012/02/report-18m-dead-registered-to-vote-072830

 

[Tuur]

I basically got bored listing these. I could go on for hours if not days.

https://www.npr.org/2012/02/14/146827471/study-1-8-million-dead-people-still-registered-to-vote

Study: 1.8 million dead people registered to vote nationwide and other errors

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Some 24 million voter registrations in the United States contain significant errors, including about 1.8 million dead people still on the rolls and many more approved to vot…

www.jacksonville.com

Election Watchdog Finds 350,000 Dead Registrants on Voter Rolls In 42 States

An election watchdog, The Public Interest Legal Foundation, has found 350,000 potentially dead individuals on voter rolls in 42 states.

freebeacon.com

More than 190K names removed from Georgia voter roll ahead of 2024 election

A total of 191,473 voter records were placed into “inactive status” this year.

www.atlantanewsfirst.com

Virginia discovers nearly 19,000 dead people on voter rolls

As Virginia election officials work to clean up the state’s voter rolls, they announced the discovery of a huge number of dead people still listed as registered voters in the

www.insidenova.com

https://www.kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=SOS&prId=506

Thousands of dead Kentuckians removed from voter rolls since 2020

More than 150,000 deceased people were de-registered from voting in Kentucky.

www.whas11.com

Michigan’s Secretary of State Fights to Keep Dead on Voter Rolls

In an order that illustrates the bizarre views of controversial Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a federal court has turned down Benson’s motion to throw out a lawsuit filed against her for refusing to remove almost 26,000 dead voters from Michigan voters rolls.

www.heritage.org

Michigan defends bloated voter rolls with 625,000 cancellations pending | Bridge Michigan

Michigan election officials say they’re working to stop 'undue challenges' from Trump supporters seeking to cancel voter registrations based on pervasive theories of potential fraud.

www.bridgemi.com

Over 400,000 Kentucky Voters Have Been Removed From Voter Rolls Since 2020

More than 223,000 were considered dead voters

www.leoweekly.com

https://www.politico.com/story/2012/02/report-18m-dead-registered-to-vote-072830

Glad you had fun.