Detroit residents press council for hearing after alleged voter-roll discrepancies

Dozens of Detroit residents and organizers used the council's public-comment period to demand a formal hearing and investigation after they said they found discrepancies in the city's voter rolls and absentee voting process.

Speakers said affidavits and lists indicate mismatches between lists provided by the city clerk and other vote counts. “While down there preaching…I was a little sad because I was thinking like most logical people, where did 50,000 people go?” Pastor Lorenzo Osula said, describing a difference he said he saw between two vote lists. Several other speakers, including Ramon Jackson and Malik Shelton, said they represent Detroiters who can testify under oath that they did not vote yet appear on voting lists.

The calls for a hearing centered on three requests: (1) that the council subpoena city election officials and members of the Board of Elections to produce records; (2) that witnesses be allowed to present sworn affidavits in a public hearing; and (3) that the city publish any findings and forward evidence to state and federal enforcement agencies.

Why it matters: speakers argued that unresolved questions about absentee-ballot verification and voter-roll accuracy undermine public confidence ahead of the 2025 primaries and municipal elections. “We’re demanding a hearing so that we can bring forth our witnesses, bring forth the affidavits, bring forth the evidence, and find out what is going on,” Malik Shelton said.

Council response and next steps: Council President Mary Sheffield and other members said the council has already received material and invited complainants to provide additional documents to the clerk’s office. Sheffield noted the Secretary of State and the city clerk have met with council previously on election questions and said submitted materials have been forwarded for review. “Everything that has been submitted to council to date, there has not been any evidence that there is any fraud within the process,” Sheffield said, while also advising residents they may take allegations to the Secretary of State, the U.S. attorney’s office or the FBI.

Some public speakers pressed the council to use subpoena power; others said the council should schedule a formal hearing so witnesses can testify in public. Councilmember discussion accepted a procedural petition (agenda item 22.1) for receipt and filing, and members encouraged additional submissions to the clerk and state/federal investigators.

Voices from the public: witnesses included Pastor Lorenzo Osula; community organizer Ramon Jackson; election worker James Doreen, who criticized the Elections Department’s practice of signature verification occurring inside the department rather than in the Absent Voter Counting Board; Theresa Williams and other Civic Advisory Council members asking for hearings; and multiple callers who said they possess affidavits.

What the record shows: callers described a range of alleged problems — mismatched counts, absentee-signature verification lacking bipartisan observation, and named examples of individuals who allegedly were recorded as voting when they say they did not. Council members repeatedly urged submitters to provide documents to the clerk and to the Secretary of State and law-enforcement partners for investigation.

Ending note: council members acknowledged the concern and the seriousness of election-related claims but did not schedule a council-led evidentiary hearing during the session. They said submitted materials will be forwarded to appropriate agencies and urged petitioners to continue to provide documentation.