Michigan Democratic Vote-by-Phone Convention Faces Scrutiny Over 200 Ineligible Ballots and Material Errors

A faction of Michigan Democrats is demanding a recount after uncovering several voting discrepancies at their recent endorsement convention. This event took place earlier this month in Detroit.

During the convention, which employed a vote-by-phone system, over 200 votes were deemed ineligible. Allegations have surfaced, from Democratic state Senator Sylvia Santana’s campaign, that numerous individuals used identical phone numbers to vote, and some ballots were neglected entirely. The campaign has officially requested an audit and recount.

According to documents obtained by the Detroit News, the filing asserts that significant errors marred the vote-counting procedures at the convention.

Santana’s team argues that the Michigan Democratic Party’s leadership failed to uphold the rule necessitating in-person attendance for voting. They claim that had only ballots from attendees physically present at Detroit’s Huntington Place convention center been considered, Santana would have secured a nomination for the Michigan State University Board of Trustees.

The filing criticizes the Democratic Party for not running a “procedurally fair and transparent convention” in line with its own rules, suggesting that this failure casts doubt on the validity of the convention’s results.

Santana’s appeal points out that 302 voters were missing from the party’s official voting list. It also highlights that 208 individuals shared a phone number with at least one other voter, including a remarkable instance of six people linked to one phone number, facilitating the casting of multiple votes.

At least 16 cases of votes being recorded incorrectly or not being recorded at all were purportedly discovered as well. 

Location data examined by Santana’s campaign found more than 200 votes were cast from outside the convention center, which means the candidate – who came in third place – would’ve won by 50 votes if the ineligible ballots weren’t counted. 

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, expressed support for Santana’s call for an audit. 

“I learned in the days immediately following the convention that the Election Buddy app did not correctly attribute my votes or my congressional district, and I immediately notified the impacted candidates and the state party chair,” Nessel said in a statement. 

Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald, who lost the party’s nominations for attorney general at the convention, similarly endorsed an audit. 

“After reviewing the results of the MDP Endorsement Convention, it became clear that votes were incorrectly recorded, people voted who were not onsite, and some votes were not recorded at all,” McDonald said in a statement. 

The Michigan Republican Party seized on the convention “mess,” questioning Democrats’ commitment to election integrity. 

“Hundreds of ineligible voters took part in the Michigan Democrat Party’s endorsement convention, highlighting the importance of voter integrity,” the Michigan GOP wrote on X. 

“Losing candidates are starting to take legal action against the Democrat Party, claiming the election were STOLEN from them,” the post continued.  

“Democrats can’t even secure their own internal elections. What a mess!” 

Jim Runestad, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, told The Post that Democrats are doing “damage control.” 

“Even Dana Nessel and Sylvia Santana are demanding an audit of the Democrat convention. Think about that,” Runestad said. “Their own side doesn’t trust what happened. 

“Chaos. Mismanagement. And now — damage control.” 

The Michigan Democratic Party declined to comment on the specifics of Santana’s appeals until after Monday’s deadline for candidates to file one.

“We are committed to following the appeals process and ensuring it is fair and independent,” the party said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the state attorney general dismissed GOP concerns about election integrity.

“There’s a substantial and documented difference between voting on a third party mobile phone application at a partisan convention and the long-established, decentralized process utilized by Michgian’s over 1,600 bipartisan clerks each election,” Nessel noted, arguing, “these results have no bearing on the veracity of state-run elections.”