Caught in the 'election wars:' Michigan clerks face increasing pressure as November nears

LANSING — The 2020 presidential election and the fallout from debunked allegations of fraud are still fresh in East Lansing City Clerk Marie Wicks' mind.

And she's not alone.

County and municipal clerks in Michigan, the government officials most involved in election administration, faced waves of threats, harassment and intimidation during and after the 2020 election which has, time and again in Michigan and elsewhere, been confirmed as secure and accurate .

Wicks and other clerks fear November will mark a new surge of those threats, which, for some clerks, never went away.

"I think we know what's coming," she said in late June about the fall election. "That's the scary part."

Wicks, who left East Lansing in 2018 and worked in election administration for the state before returning to the city, made those comments before the presidential election was upended.

On July 13, a Pennsylvania man tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a rally and a week later President Joe Biden suddenly withdrew from his race against Trump. Both events further ratcheted up the rhetoric for an already divided electorate, even more so in Michigan, which is one of a handful of battleground states experts and both campaigns say is needed to win the White House.

Those events amplified concerns among clerks who were already bracing themselves for a months-long election season.

In May, the Brennan Center for Justice, a national nonpartisan law and policy institute, released the results from a survey of more than 900 local election officials across the country that looked at their experiences and steps taken since the 2020 election.

Nearly 40% reported being harassed, verbally abused or threatened, up significantly from the 30% who made those claims a year earlier. More than half said they had started sharing office locations and polling hours with local law enforcement or, for the first time, exchanged contact information with police.

A staggering 70% said they felt threats against election workers have increased since 2020, and, of those who were threatened, 61% reported an in-person threat. And nearly all — 92% — have taken "critical" steps to improve cybersecurity and measures to keep voters and election workers safe.

Melanie Ryska, the Sterling Heights clerk and president of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, said clerks she's spoken with across the state are on heightened awareness.

"I think we're all a little more vigilant and a little more prepared (after 2020)," she said. "And we already have the expectation that not everyone is going to be a fan of us."

'Dangerous for some people'

The Michigan Secretary of State's Office, with help from the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, put on tabletop exercises in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Traverse City and Marquette. They covered topics including bomb threats at polling places and unknown substances found in absentee ballot envelopes .

Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum attended one of the exercises, as did Ingham County Prosecuting Attorney John Dewane and someone from the Sheriff's Office . Byrum and Dewane are Democrats.

Chris Swope, clerk for the City of Lansing and a Democrat, said the exercises covered "scenarios that you wouldn't necessarily think about" regarding safety and planning.

"It's a little bit enlightening," he said. "A little bit frightening."

Part of the challenge for clerks is balancing security with access.

Swope said he's always communicated with the Lansing Police Department about safety and logistics leading up to an election. Those conversations have continued since 2020, he said, adding that LPD understands the need is now even bigger. But, Swope said, the balance comes in how polling places are secured.

"We kind of want that invisible presence so that we know they're there," he said. "But we don't want police vehicles parked in front of our polling places."

Eaton County Clerk Diana Bosworth, a Republican, said she expects increased attention as November nears, but added that she's "pleased" she and her staff have not experienced the threats and scrutiny that others have.

Bosworth said she communicates with the Eaton County Sheriff's Office leading up to all major elections and Sheriff Tom Reich "has been very willing to have deputies available at polling places in case of need."

Caught in the 'voting wars'

One concern is that the longer threats continue to be made, the more clerks will leave the profession.

Bosworth said there have already been departures.

"I have heard that several other county and municipal clerks have opted for retirement during this election cycle because the responsibilities of election administrators are huge and their resources are often low," she said. "Election scrutiny and distrust can be a huge burden to an already tough job."

Michael Siegrist, Canton Township clerk and a board member of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, recently posted to social media that dozens of Michigan townships have clerk elections this fall, but no candidates for the jobs on the ballot. He pointed out that of 1,240 Michigan township clerks up for election, 118 had no candidates, nearly 10%.

"Unfortunately, MI Clerks have been caught in the middle of what we like to call the 'voting wars.' Where partisans and activists work the refs," Siegrist, a Democrat, wrote on X.

Ryska said it's not just threats that are pushing clerks to leave. Constantly changing regulations, along with the scrutiny, are making it more difficult for overworked, overstressed and underpaid clerks to remain on the job when it can also be dangerous.

"We are quite literally not allowed to make mistakes," she said. "If we make a mistake someone cries fraud. And we're human."

Wicks, like many clerks, can quickly name colleagues across the state who've faced extreme threats, including Tina Barton, the former clerk for Rochester Hills outside Detroit.

Earlier this month, a federal judge sentenced Andrew Nickels of Carmel, Indiana, to 14 months in prison after he pleaded guilty in February to leaving Barton a voicemail rife with violent threats .

"There's not a lot of people who want to do this job," said Wicks, who is a nonpartisan clerk. "It's dangerous for some people."

The Brennan Center survey found that 7% of clerks were unlikely to be in the job for the November election, and 20% said they were unlikely to remain after the 2026 midterm election.

With the heightened scrutiny on elections, Wicks said schools or churches, which have traditionally been common polling places, might rethink whether to open their doors due to safety concerns. That would create yet another hurdle for clerks who are required by law to have polling locations throughout their municipality.

'Death by a thousand cuts'

And it's not just the years of violent threats that will make clerks' jobs more difficult.

Organizations and individual people, knowingly or otherwise, have pressed clerks to incorrectly remove people from voting rolls. Some have filed multiple public records requests that Byrum believes are meant to only create more work for clerks who also are trying to register more voters and mail out more absentee ballots than ever before.

Pressure is one thing, Wicks added, but people will get hurt if election deniers continue pushing lies.

Then there are the court decisions, often issued at the last possible moment, that impact what voters and clerks can and can't do. Clerks need to be aware of changes to where observers can be, for example, so they can train workers, who can then administer those rules on Election Day.

Plus, Byrum said, clerks need to pay special attention during election worker training sessions to weed out people who signed up for the wrong reasons and might create chaos on Election Day.

All that, plus the years of allegations without proof and bogus lawsuits, and Byrum said it can start to feel like "death by a thousand cuts."

However, Byrum said she's not worried about whether clerks can run safe and secure elections. She's worried because people still haven't been held accountable for their actions around the 2020 election. And she's worried leaders won’t hold people in their organizations accountable.

The Brennan Center survey reported that 62% of election officials are worried about political leaders interfering with how they do their jobs.

"We are your neighbors. We are your football coaches," Byrum said of election clerks and workers. "Our kids play soccer together. We are fulfilling a civic duty. ... I’m hopeful that people remember to treat their neighbors as they would like to be treated."

Detroit Free Press reporter Clara Hendrickson contributed to this story. Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at 517-377-1026 or mjmencarini@lsj.com .

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Caught in the 'election wars:' Michigan clerks face increasing pressure as November nears