Michigan passes laws restricting recounts in cases of voter fraud allegations and election victories by large margins

Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed bills on Monday that prohibit recounts of votes based on allegations of voter fraud and for counts that would have no impact on the election outcome.

Whitmer said in a statement that this supports “fair and free elections that ensure the winner can take office without unnecessary interference.”

Senate Bill 603 contains numerous provisions related to election recounts. Specifically, the bill states that a recount is not an “investigation or review of the conduct of an election” and that it “does not evaluate the qualifications of eligible voters participating in an election or the manner in which ballots are requested or issued to eligible voters.”

In addition, the law will not allow the Board of Elections to investigate allegations of fraud; instead, it will have to refer the case to the county attorney or state attorney general.

Candidate or electoral commissions – organizations that put issues on the ballot for voters to vote on – can only request a recount for “constituencies where there is an imbalance between the number of votes collected and the number of votes cast,” according to a statement on the law.

This discrepancy must be so large that a redistribution of votes to the losing side could reverse the election result. Otherwise, a recount cannot be requested.

The state House of Representatives’ Elections Committee said in an analysis of the bill that Green Party candidate Jill Stein had requested a recount of Michigan’s 2016 presidential election despite receiving only 1.07 percent of the vote.

Additionally, petitions were filed in 2022 calling for a recount of two ballot proposals due to alleged voter fraud. None of the petitions called for a recount of enough votes to affect the outcome, and “although many believe these recounts were not serious, they had to be done because the petitions were lawfully filed,” the legislative analysis said.

The law also increases the amount someone must pay to request a recount so that the community can afford to conduct it effectively and accurately. By charging more money for larger margins of victory, the state also discourages candidates and election commissions from requesting recounts for elections with less close victories.

Republicans in the state House of Representatives have expressed opposition to these provisions, including state Rep. Ann Bollin (R).

“I understand the importance of preventing frivolous recounts, but we must also recognize the right of candidates and voters to ensure they have confidence in the results,” Bollin said in a statement. “By making recounts too expensive, we effectively displace local candidates from ensuring the accuracy of election results and undermine public confidence in the process.”

The bill also includes a provision requiring that any recount be submitted within 48 hours of the county election commission certifying the votes, to prevent election results from being delayed for an extended period of time.

The law then states that “any person who willfully obstructs a recount or the activities of a recount is guilty of a crime.”

Senate Bill 604, a companion bill, amends the state’s sentencing guidelines to reflect this change and specifies that this crime is punishable by up to five years in prison.

“Today, with the signing of our commonsense reforms to the recount bill, we are strengthening our democracy and ensuring that we achieve the most accurate vote count possible in a recount process,” State Senator Stephanie Chang (D) said in a statement Monday. “This legislation achieves important goals of protecting the security of every vote, modernizing our recount process and amplifying the voice of Michigan voters.”

Read Whitmer’s statement on the bills here.

Read SB 603 here.

Read SB 604 here.