WARREN, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) — There is growing concern that ballot counting in the city of Warren could be delayed on Election Day.
“After the 2020 election, people thought something was wrong because of the long time it took to count the votes,” said Macomb County Clerk Anthony G. Forlini.
Forlini said Michigan is now allowing local governments to count absentee ballots eight days early. All city clerks in Macomb County took advantage of the law, except Warren’s city clerk.
Forlini said he doesn’t understand the decision to wait until election night to count absentee ballots because it could potentially delay the outcome.
“So this is a method for clerks to tabulate votes early, and hopefully that will get them in sooner,” he said.
CBS Detroit contacted Warren City Clerk Sonja Buffa, who released the following statement:
“I have been administering elections for 24 years and my staff has always demonstrated accuracy and precision in elections. Accuracy is my number one priority, and then speed is second. For these reasons,
“I chose not to pre-process.
“First, it would actually take more time to pre-process absentee ballots for eight days, given the additional people needed, the time it takes, the storage required, and the post-compilation, than a full day of counting.
“Next, pre-processing is not mandatory for clerks. The legislature could have easily mandated pre-processing, but they chose to make it optional.
‘And finally, eight days of pre-processing opens the door for results to be leaked or compromised. I don’t want to risk compromising the integrity of the elections.
“I also want results quickly and we are committed to accomplishing that task, in addition to conducting the elections accurately and securely. WE CAN DO THIS! I hope that the criticism this office receives will not discourage the general public from voting. As always, thank you for your vote.”
Meanwhile, Forlini said that while he disagrees with the decision not to count early absentee ballots, he is committed to helping the city of Warren count ballots on election night.
“I would encourage Warren to bring them in, don’t sit on them in the city office, but bring them in so we can get it tabulated so we can get the results out to the people who want to know,” said he.
