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Resident raises questions about Midland County canvass process, precinct-level write-in reporting
Summary
A Midland Township resident told the Board of State Canvassers she could not obtain precinct-level write-in tallies from the county’s early-voting aggregation and raised concerns about canvassing boards dividing into subgroups and holding discussions the public could not hear.
Renita Bonadies of Homer Township told the Michigan Board of State Canvassers that Midland County’s post-election canvass process did not provide precinct-level tallies for write-in votes from the early-voting center and that the county’s canvassing panel divided into subgroups whose discussions the public could not hear.
Bonadies said she attended the county canvass and several follow-up meetings and that the county’s official results presented early-voting returns as a single total rather than broken out by precinct. She said she compared Midland’s approach with other counties and believed other counties produced precinct-level write-in tallies. "Is this really the way these votes were to be tallied and reported by the board?" she asked the state board.
Bureau staff responded that they have handled multiple FOIA requests on the issue and that clerks receive bureau guidance and a county canvassing manual. Staff said the bureau had not yet responded to a January email in the record and offered to follow up. The bureau noted early voting is new statewide and that clerks have asked for more time to complete post-election canvases; the bureau supports legislation to expand the canvass period but said the current law gives 14 days to complete the process.
Staff told the board that counties vary in how they allocate canvassing work and that the board itself does not supervise county canvassing boards; enforcement or legal remedies would typically be pursued through the county clerk, the bureau, or by private legal action such as a recount or a court case if someone challenges the tally.
Bonadies also said county canvass panels sometimes split into two teams — each with one Democrat and one Republican — that review separate sets of precinct records and speak quietly so the public cannot hear their deliberations. She said that practice left the public without access to discussion of disputed precinct issues. The bureau said it can provide further guidance to clerks and that it has incorporated new procedures and random-sampling methods into petition and post-election review since 2022.
The board did not take formal action on the Midland County matters; members suggested Bonadies could pursue FOIA requests or seek local remedies and said bureau staff would follow up on outstanding inquiries.
