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Former State Senator Patrick Kolbeck tells committee Michigan election records need greater transparency and audits
Summary
Patrick Kolbeck, a former Michigan state senator, told the House Committee on Election Integrity that precinct-level records, the Qualified Voter File transaction log and other data are necessary to verify election accuracy and integrity. He urged subpoenas, federal investigations and stricter audit and chain-of-custody rules.
Former Michigan state Sen. Patrick Kolbeck told the Michigan House Committee on Election Integrity that a full set of precinct-level election records, the Qualified Voter File (QVF) transaction log and other documents are needed to determine whether recent elections were “accurate and conducted with integrity.”
Kolbeck testified that the basic records needed to cross-check results are the number of voters, the number of ballots cast, the list of voters, ballot images or ballots, cast vote records and election results for each voting method (in-person election-day, absentee, and early voting). “For the general public to have confidence in the results of a given election, each of these election records should be consistent with one another,” he said, citing Article 2, Section 4 of the Michigan Constitution.
Why it matters: Kolbeck said gaps and inconsistencies in those records make it impossible for canvassers, auditors or the public to fully validate reported results. He gave examples — including a precinct recount in 2016 where a ballot container held 50 ballots though the statement of votes indicated 306 — and said precinct-level “balance” (matching voter counts to ballots) is only one indicator of integrity.
Kolbeck identified three categories of recommended action: legislation to increase transparency of election records; laws to codify chain-of-custody protections; and higher, legislatively defined audit standards for the secretary of state. He urged the committee to subpoena the QVF transaction log so the legislature can see who changed what voter-history records and when, and to subpoena other data to evaluate claims that data-formatting errors explained alleged illegal votes in 2024.
On allegations and investigations: Kolbeck detailed several allegations and legal claims he says support concerns about integrity: that some county canvassers refused to certify the 2020 results in Wayne County; that the state’s voting-history data changes monthly; that he possesses evidence he characterizes as an “apparent $82,500” payment tied to a political committee that he says warrants further review; and that courts have found the secretary of state issued unlawful guidance in several cases. He described filing complaints with the attorney grievance commission and the judicial tenure commission related to a donation to a judicial campaign and said those complaints were rejected at the state level and are now, he said, before federal authorities.
On audits and recounts: Kolbeck told members that recounts are “an audit light” because recounts examine ballots but typically do not reconcile ballots against the voter list, QVF transaction logs or cast vote records. He criticized Michigan’s risk-limiting audit approach as too narrow and said no Detroit precincts were examined in a cited risk-limiting audit, which he said left a large portion of the statewide vote unexamined.
Committee response and questions: Committee members asked about the secretary of state’s stated security concerns in denying access to some data; Kolbeck said redaction could protect personal data while still allowing review of transaction logs. He also recommended federal involvement under Executive Orders 13873 and 14248 for issues around foreign components in voting systems and alleged foreign influence through nongovernmental organizations.
What he asked the committee to do: Kolbeck urged subpoenas for (1) the QVF transaction log, and (2) the data needed to evaluate the secretary of state’s explanation about alleged data-formatting errors in 2024. He also recommended the legislature request federal investigations into compliance with the cited executive orders and other actions.
Ending: Kolbeck concluded by reiterating that precinct-level, auditable records are the “building blocks” of trustworthy elections and said he would make supporting documentation available to the committee on request. He said he was available for questions and to provide additional materials.
