False claim: 105% of Michigan residents are registered to vote

There are more registered voters in Michigan than people of voting age because a state law requires officials to keep inactive voters — defined as those who haven’t voted in six years or have moved their address to another state — on the voter rolls for up to two federal election seasons after they’re identified as inactive, said Corwin Smidt, an associate professor of political science at Michigan State University. More than 610,000 inactive voters are expected to be removed from the rolls by 2027, according to the state’s Voter Information Center.

“This discrepancy is mandated by state law,” Smidt said.

The claim also appears in the opening paragraph of a question-and-answer with Blaze TV host Sara Gonzales posted on conservative commentator Glenn Beck’s website. She also referenced the statistic in connection with the federal lawsuit filed in March by the Republican National Committee against Michigan’s secretary of state and the director of the state’s election office over voter roll maintenance.

The RNC claims that there are more registered voters than adult citizens in 53 of the state’s 83 counties. It calls that number “impossibly high” and argues that it violates the National Voter Registration Act’s requirements to maintain “clean and accurate” voter rolls. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson called it a “public relations campaign disguised as a baseless lawsuit.” A similar lawsuit was dismissed in March.