A bill introduced Tuesday in the Michigan House would create a bipartisan audit board to review the 2020 election “and identify corrective action to improve” the state’s voting processes.
Conservative activists have been pushing for a forensic audit of the 2020 election, similar to what is being done in Arizona.
“A thorough, bipartisan review will help us identify what works, what doesn’t, and how to make our elections secure and accessible for every Michigan voter,” state Rep. Steve Carra (R) said, who authored the bill.
“I know my colleagues on both sides of the aisle care about secure elections that the voters can trust; my plan will help ensure Michigan elections are fair, honest, and accurate.”
House Bill 5091 would create the bipartisan audit board, which would then contract with an “impartial, nonpartisan corporation to conduct a forensic audit of the 2020 general election.”
The state Auditor General would be a part of the 7-member board, as would appointees from each party in the House and Senate. A partisan 2020 election challenger from each party would also join.
According to Carra, the audit would “analyze current processes to maintain accurate, up-to-date voter rolls” by reviewing additions, revisions, and deletions to the Qualified Voter File. The audit would randomly select 20 percent of precincts in cities with at least 500,000 residents — or in other words, Detroit — and 10 percent of precincts in all 83 counties for “a thorough audit of poll books, ballots, and vote tallies from the 2020 general election.”
The audit would also scrutinize how poll books were generated, whether electronic poll books were connected to a network after being downloaded, and any changes made to a poll book. It would also review the number of ballots printed, returned, and how they were handled by clerks.
The bill would require transparency throughout the review “by requiring camera recording of the entire audit process.”
“Transparency is an important responsibility of the Michigan Legislature,” Carra said.
“As the people’s elected representatives responsible for setting election laws for our state, we have a duty to ensure that our elections are conducted properly, and a forensic audit will help us move forward together.”
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) has disputed the need for an in-depth audit, claiming “more than 250 audits” have already been done on a total of 18,000 ballots, the Detroit News reported in February.
She called the 2020 election “the most successful” in Michigan history.
In April, Benson refused to testify on the election audits, claiming the Senate Oversight Committee was “undermining faith” in the 2020 results.
Carra’s plan would require approval of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), who has rejected questions about the 2020 election. He told Breitbart News he would support his proposal being part of a citizens initiative that has been floated as a way to bypass a potential Whitmer veto.
Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. He is also host of “The Kyle Olson Show,” syndicated on Michigan radio stations on Saturdays–download full podcast episodes. Follow him on Parler.