Michigan Election 2022 updates: Feds monitor polls across state - Detroit Free Press

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Polls are unfastened for Election Day. And galore eyes are connected Michigan, with races for governor, secretary of state and attorney general astatine stake, arsenic good arsenic three ballot proposals and a authorities Legislature that could flip to Democrats for the archetypal clip successful decades.

We're pursuing what's happening astatine polls crossed metro Detroit and astir the state, truthful support your eyes present and refresh for caller updates. Polls adjacent astatine 8 p.m.

U.S. cybersecurity officials spot nary attacks connected predetermination infrastructure yet 

U.S. cybersecurity officials truthful acold person seen nary indications of nonstop attacks connected predetermination infrastructure crossed the United States successful the aboriginal hours of mid-term voting Tuesday. But they stay connected precocious alert to disinformation operations and efforts to sway voters’ opinions by nation-states specified arsenic Russia, China and Iran, a elder authoritative with the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency told reporters.

The elder CISA authoritative said those 3 nations proceed to usage the predetermination disinformation playbook they person successful past elections, and that CISA volition proceed to enactment predetermination officials nationwide to immoderate risks that whitethorn originate due to the fact that of them.

In the archetypal of 3 predetermination information media briefings scheduled for Tuesday, the authoritative would not accidental whether specified overseas disinformation efforts are worse than successful past predetermination cycles, but confirmed that CISA is particularly connected defender against Russian malign power campaigns following yesterday’s assertion by sanctioned Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin that the Kremlin has meddled successful U.S. elections and volition proceed to bash so.

 — Josh Meyer, USA Today

'People are distracted by the civilization war'

At the Salter Community Center successful Royal Oak, Sean Kelly, 47, said concerns astir publication bans successful schools partially motivated him to ballot connected Tuesday. Parents whitethorn not similar definite books, helium said, but they could crook retired to beryllium life-saving for different children.

“I deliberation radical are distracted by the civilization war… . That's a distraction from the existent issues,” helium said.

— Lily Altavena

Feds show polls successful 5 Michigan cities

The U.S. Department of Justice volition show for compliance with the national voting rights laws successful Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Pontiac, and Southfield connected Tuesday.

The 5 cities the national authorities is monitoring successful Michigan are among 64 jurisdictions crossed 24 states that the section is keeping an oculus on.

The Justice Department has regularly monitored elections successful the tract successful jurisdictions astir the state since the transition of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson called the beingness of the Justice Department “an further spouse successful the field,” successful an interrogation with respective reporters Tuesday morning.

“The beingness of the Justice Department, the beingness of different partners successful the field, including implicit 50 radical from our bureau who volition beryllium moving to support and enactment clerks and canvass workers, is conscionable a reflection of however prepared we are to minimize immoderate imaginable disruptions and guarantee the time goes smoothly,” Benson said.

Bruce Adelson, a voting rights lawyer who worked for Michigan’s redistricting committee and antecedently served arsenic an lawyer focused connected voting and elections astatine the U.S. Department of Justice, said helium doesn’t deliberation the section has ever sent that galore monitors to Michigan connected a national predetermination day.

The fig of monitors is not needfully indicative of an summation successful threats, helium said.

“I deliberation it’s much a relation of what elections you really person astatine issue,” Adelson said. The battleground authorities has 3 contentious races for apical statewide offices and Adelson noted “heated rhetoric successful Michigan and different states” this cycle.

Adrienne Roberts and Clara Hendrickson

'Important for maine and for my daughter'

Mark and Amy Miller headed to the polls astatine the Pleasant Ridge Community Center Tuesday greeting earlier 9:30 a.m. with their 2 children Noah, 7, and Abby, 5.

Amy Miller said the cardinal contented that brought her retired was Proposal 3, which puts reproductive rights, including an individual’s close to marque decisions astir termination and pregnancy, successful the Michigan Constitution. “It is important for maine and for my daughter, that’s wherefore I brought her on with maine today,” said Miller, who is 36. 

Miller, who is Catholic, said she voted yes connected Proposal 3 and expects that the voting volition spell successful favour of the yes votes. 

“It’s important that women are capable to instrumentality attraction of themselves,” Amy Miller said. “It’s not needfully for maine astir the termination part. It’s astir having that systematic close for healthcare.” 

— Susan Tompor

Michigan connected way for historical turnout

Expect unofficial predetermination results successful Michigan to beryllium completed Wednesday, wrong 24 hours of polls closing, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said to a radical of respective reporters Tuesday morning.

“Know that arsenic of close now, radical are already validating and tabulating those absentee ballots and moving efficiently and securely to get things done arsenic rapidly arsenic possible,” Benson said.

She said Michigan is connected way to person 1 of the highest turnouts for a midterm predetermination successful the state’s history.

As of 1 p.m., elector turnout is higher than expected, said Jake Rollow, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of State. Poll workers are seeing much in-person voters than they're utilized to, Rollow said, but they're processing it good and everything is going smoothly. 

There person besides been 3,666 same-day elector registrations, chiefly successful assemblage towns. 

As of 1 p.m., determination were 2,018,929 AV ballots requested and 1,758,987 AV ballots submitted. Rollow said the Department of State has not heard astir immoderate incidents of elector interference oregon intimidation, but 1 canvass challenger made repeated impermissible challenges successful Ann Arbor. The challenger has either stopped making challenges oregon was removed, helium said.

− Emma Stein and Adrienne Roberts

'Time tested and ready' arsenic polls open

The authorities of Michigan is much prepared for Tuesday’s predetermination than it ever has been for erstwhile elections, Jake Rollow, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of State, said connected a telephone with reporters Tuesday morning.

After moving done the 2020 predetermination and seeing record-high turnouts successful the midst of the pandemic, Rollow said “election officials crossed the state, I would say, are clip tested and acceptable for immoderate comes their way.”

Based connected aboriginal conversations with clerks and observations astatine the polling tract helium visited, determination are much radical showing up successful idiosyncratic to ballot than successful caller elections and voters are casting their ballots without immoderate issues.

He said arsenic of 8 a.m. Tuesday, 2,016,147 absentee ballots had been requested and 1,716,264 absentee ballots were submitted.

− Adrienne Roberts

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