News Bite

Voter Cleanup - Missed One? Sheriff Gets Ballot Application For Dead Person 20 Years Gone

2018 law requires state to match voter records against Social Security master files

Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf said he received a ballot application from the Michigan Secretary of State for a deceased individual who lived at his residence before him, and has not lived in the county in 20 years.

"We Sheriff's are tasked with investigating voter fraud. The facts are that I received a ballot application for someone who has not lived here for over 20 years and is deceased,"  said Leaf, a Republican, in a June 5 Facebook post on the sheriff department's page. "The potential for fraud is there. I understand that it's a ballot application. I hope that I am the only one who gets one sent to their residence for someone who is deceased."

In 2018 Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law Public Act 126 of 2018, which MichiganVotes.org described as requiring "the Secretary of State to check the statewide qualified voter file against the U.S. Social Security Administration's death master file on a monthly basis.”

Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.