But with increased focus on election problems and irregularities nationwide, Ann Arbor became the target of false information after reports of long lines of voters waiting to vote late Tuesday night in the college community. Election officials, government watchdog groups and other experts, however, said the election process was conducted in accordance with state law. Here are the facts. CLAIM: City officials in Ann Arbor were registering new voters and allowing them to vote long after the polls closed on Election Day. THE FACTS: The false claim gained traction when a Republican candidate for Michigan secretary of state issued a lengthy statement on social media singling out the vote in Ann Arbor — a liberal stronghold that’s home to the University of Michigan — as evidence of election fraud. “We will not tolerate lawlessness by Ann Arbor city employee,” Kristina Karamo wrote in her Election Day tweet, which has since been liked or shared more than 1,200 times. The Trump-backed Republican, who ended up losing to incumbent Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, doubled down on her claims Thursday in a tweet that was also widely shared. “Ann Arbor Clerk Engaged in Massive Election Crimes. Illegal registration of people after 8pm,” wrote another Twitter user, repeating the false claim. “They are brazenly breaking the law.” However, Michigan state law allows anyone in line when the polls close at 8 p.m. to register to vote and vote, election officials and experts told The Associated Press this week. “Although we say the polls are open until 8pm in MI, if you are in line before 8pm and stay in line, you can vote,” Sharon Dolente, senior adviser for Promote the Vote. “The same is true if you have to register to vote first, in order to vote.” The story continues Promote the Vote, a coalition that includes the NAACP, the League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union, coordinated an Election Day hotline and had hundreds of observers at polling places across the state on Tuesday. Dale Thomson, a political science professor at the University of Michigan in Dearborn, agreed, noting that Michigan voters in 2018 approved same-day registration, meaning voters can register up until Election Day. The Michigan Department of State, which oversees statewide elections, confirmed with Ann Arbor officials that all registered voters after 8 p.m. were in line before the polls closed and that each person was given a document to to verify that, said Jake Rollow, a spokesman for the agency. “Eligible American citizens have a constitutional right to register to vote and vote, and if they are in line by the 8 p.m. deadline. on election day, they should be allowed to do so,” he wrote in an email. Joanna Satterlee, spokeswoman for the city of Ann Arbor, said waiting voters were given a “ticket” in the form of a blank application to vote. Only those with the application were allowed to register and vote, he said. Staff were also present to ensure that no one entered the lines after 8pm Satterly said the city did not have a count of how many votes were cast by those waiting in line after 8 p.m. Tuesday, but that the last ballot was cast shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday. He said the three polling locations affected were City Hall and two locations on the University of Michigan campus, where hundreds of waiting voters were seen wrapped in donated blankets and drinking hot cocoa as temperatures dropped below 45 degrees. The U.S. Department of Justice, which has stationed election observers in other Michigan cities, declined to comment, and Karamo’s campaign did not return messages this week. But the secretary of state’s office said it will work with city officials, university administrators and student leaders in Ann Arbor and other college communities to “identify and implement practices to prevent such situations” in the future. Michigan State University on Friday said it experienced similarly long voting lines, with the last vote taking place on the East Lansing campus at 12:09 a.m. on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, long lines at certain locations, most often in college towns, have been a challenge in Michigan for years,” Dolente said. “This was before same-day registration was approved. Promote the Vote looks forward to working with election officials to prevent this from happening in the future.”
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