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n apparent threat by Michigan’s Democrat Attorney General Dana Nessel to arrest and prosecute local activists promoting election integrity and anti-voter fraud efforts caused many of them to steer clear of a contentious monitoring effort out of fear of being targeted by the government, according to a Michigan attorney deeply involved in the situation.
Across Michigan on Wednesday, dozens of counties and hundreds of precincts began a recount for two controversial ballot proposals that were approved by voters on Nov. 8.
The first measure in question is Proposal 2, which establishes early voting, expands access to absentee voting and preempts Republican efforts to enact more stringent voter ID rules. The other measure is Proposal 3, which enshrines abortion rights in the state’s constitution.
The recount was triggered by the efforts of Election Integrity Force (EIF), a group that says it seeks “transparent and trusted” elections. The effort is unlikely to reverse the proposals, which were approved by comfortable margins.
Still, volunteer election challengers affiliated with EIF showed up to observe the recount, requesting access to look for errors or irregularities on ballots and ballot boxes. Daniel Hartman, an attorney in Michigan who’s been working with EIF and closely monitoring the recount effort, said the recount is meant to “scrutinize” Michigan’s election process more so than to overturn the proposals.
