MASON, MI – Today, Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga) issued the following statement on the certification of the November 3, 2020 General Election.
“This afternoon, the Ingham County Board of Canvassers, which is comprised of two Democrats and two Republicans and their appointed assistants, certified the November 3, 2020 General Election. The Board of Canvassers does the very important work of checking the work of our local election inspectors and clerks to ensure that for every voter that voted, only one ballot was cast and for every ballot cast there was a voter.
The work of the Board of Canvassers is one of the many safeguards that are in place to ensure the safety, security, and accuracy of each Election in Michigan. In addition to their work, the County and local Clerks do internal preliminary testing of the election programming and the local Election Commissions of the various jurisdictions perform Public Accuracy Testing so that the Public may confirm that the ballots are read by the tabulators accurately.
There is certainly a possibility that recounts will be filed, as permitted under law, and I stand ready to assist and conduct any, should they become necessary. In addition, random audits will be performed, within the next two months, to verify the results.
I want to extend my gratitude to the Ingham County Board of Canvassers for their diligent work in canvassing the election and certifying the results as ‘official.’ I also have tremendous appreciation for the election workers, local clerks, their staff, and my amazing staff for the extremely hard work that they have done to ensure that the Election ran smoothly.
Finally, I wish to thank the hundreds of Ingham County Elections Inspectors for their commitment and for putting their health on the line to help to protect and preserve our democratic process. There was a tremendous outpouring of excitement and interest in serving the public in this election and it is my hope that that will translate into a new generation of Elections Inspectors who are willing to serve for years to come.”
