This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access.
The Michigan Bureau of Elections revoked Antrim County Clerk Victoria Bishop’s access to Michigan’s voter roll Friday, the latest salvo in the dispute between the state and the controversial Republican election official.
Jonathan Brater, Michigan’s director of elections, said in a letter to Bishop that she is “taking actions ... that do not comply with the Michigan Election Law and fall outside the scope of your statutory authority” after she allegedly changed or even canceled some voters’ registrations earlier this year.
Under Michigan law, maintaining the Qualified Voter File — the state’s central database of registered voters — is the job of city and township clerks, not county clerks. Brater noted in his letter that Bishop does “not have authority to alter QVF records except in certain situations,” including to flag voters who have died.
However, Brater wrote, the state’s review of Bishop’s QVF activity found that that was not what she was doing. He also reprimanded her for sending notices to voters about the cancellations that were insufficiently complete, based on unreliable information, and also supposed to be sent only by city and township clerks.
“Based upon your actions, it appears there is a lack of understanding regarding your responsibilities and authority as it relates to voter registration, list maintenance, and use of QVF,” Brater wrote. He concluded by notifying her that her QVF access has been suspended until she completes a series of trainings on QVF security, promises to comply with Michigan’s election law in the future, and responds adequately to the state’s initial inquiries on whose voter registrations were changed and why.
Bishop did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday afternoon on the suspension. However, she has previously argued she has a “mandate” from voters to “rectify long-standing vulnerabilities in the county’s registration data” after Antrim County elected her on promises she would clean up the county’s rolls.
Bishop has been in hot water with the state since April, when Votebeat first reported that she had been altering people’s voter registrations. Interlochen Public Radio later reported that she had sent notices of confirmation or cancellation to some 1,800 voters in the county of about 25,000 people, confusing voters and irritating township clerks who had to deal with the fallout.
After Bishop failed to correctly respond to the state — she initially sent her response to an incorrect email address and did not answer a number of questions — the Department of State formally demanded she stop. Bishop and her husband, a radio host best known as Trucker Randy, threatened their own legal action against the state. They raised a few hundred dollars for the effort before ultimately unpublishing their fundraiser. It does not appear a suit was filed.
Michigan State Police also investigated the Bishops after it came to light that her husband was alone in the clerk’s office using her computer in February. The Bishops told investigators that he was using the computer to watch a public county meeting as he was waiting for a phone call. The attorney general’s office confirmed Friday that investigation is ongoing.
Voters should not see services interrupted by Bishop’s lack of access to the QVF, as her deputy clerk, Annette Marcus, will still have access, and the bulk of work in the QVF is done by city and township clerks.
The county’s next elections are the primaries in August.
Hayley Harding is a reporter for Votebeat based in Michigan. Contact Hayley at hharding@votebeat.org.
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Michigan’s free newsletter here.
