Secretary Benson: Macomb County clerk’s reckless accusations put eligible Michigan voters at risk

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, while attending the National Association of Secretaries of State winter conference, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson released results of an investigation conducted by the Michigan Bureau of Elections (BOE) into recent allegations by Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini that he had found 15 non-U.S. citizens on the state’s voter rolls. Clerk Forlini has said he has met with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and turned the people on his list over to law enforcement for criminal investigation.  

BOE has now reviewed these 15 records and compared them to driver and vehicle records in the CARS database as well as the federal SAVE system. Only three had any voting history: one was an American citizen who legally cast a ballot, one voted in 2024 and is still under investigation, and the third last voted in 2018, but their voter registration had already been canceled in 2022.

“This is what happens when you prioritize headlines over facts, real people pay the price,” Secretary Benson said. “Now, at least one eligible Michigan voter is under criminal investigation for doing nothing wrong, and at least two verified U.S. citizens risk losing their voter registration without notice. I take any reports of illegal voting activity very seriously. We conduct these reviews carefully because reckless accusations like this have real consequences for American citizens here in Michigan and throughout the country.” 

Of the 15 names submitted to BOE by Clerk Forlini, the investigation found:  

• Three are U.S. citizens and eligible voters.

• Four are apparent noncitizens. BOE will send a letter to them asking them to confirm their eligibility to vote. If they do not respond, BOE will cancel their registration.  

• Four were previously removed from the voter rolls.

• Four are under review by BOE for additional documentation to verify their citizenship status. 

Michigan Elections Director Jonathan Brater sent a letter to Clerk Forlini today asking for more detail on how his office determined people on this list are not U.S. citizens.  

Michigan Department of State (MDOS) Chief of Staff Christina Anderson also sent Clerk Forlini a letter today clarifying the laws and procedures the department follows when providing a list of potential jurors to counties. Under Michigan law, MDOS must provide a list of all county residents from the CARS driving record database. Because non-U.S. citizens with proof of legal presence are legally permitted to have a driver’s license or state ID, that list includes both U.S. citizens who are eligible for jury service as well as noncitizens who are not.  

Secretary Benson and her administration routinely conduct careful reviews of voter rolls to ensure eligible Michigan voters are not wrongfully investigated or stopped from voting. Reviews sometimes find eligible American voters who could be improperly labeled as noncitizens – whether by clerical error, change of citizenship status, or otherwise. In the process, BOE updates the voter roll list accordingly. Since taking office, Secretary Benson’s administration has removed more than 1.1 million outdated or ineligible registrations to keep Michigan’s voter rolls accurate. 

“One thing I’ve learned in talking with election officials across the country, regardless of partisanship, is there is not a single one out there that wants a noncitizen on their voter list,” said David Becker, executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation and Research. “There is also not a single election official I’ve ever spoken to who wants to accidentally or intentionally remove an eligible voter from the voter list. The facts are, the existence of noncitizen registration and voting is extraordinarily rare. I’ve worked on voter lists for 20 years and with states across the country and I can tell you that Michigan is a standard bearer for clean voter lists.” 

At the same time, Clerk Forlini has told media outlets he has met with the U.S. DOJ. The federal agency is suing Michigan and 23 other states, demanding full access to the private information of millions of registered voters. In recent days, the U.S. Attorney General has threatened that federal agents will continue to terrorize the people of Minnesota unless states hand over our complete voter file while the DOJ refuses to tell state election officials why they want the information, what they will use it for, or even that they will store it safely. 

“Let me be abundantly clear – I will never hand over the private information to a rogue United States president or anyone else who would try to bully me into submission,” Benson said. “I will not bend the knee to anyone who threatens the rights and freedoms of Michiganders – not now, not ever. Michigan knows how to run safe, secure, transparent elections. We don’t need federal agents in our cities, and we don’t need politicians – who know better – accusing eligible voters of fraud to score political points.” 

For more information on election security, or how voter rolls are maintained in Michigan, visit Michigan.gov/ElectionSecurity.