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Detroit mail-in vote count moved away from room with windows, officials say they 'learned a lot from 2020'
By Caitlin McFall
Published November 08, 2022
Detroit election officials have made changes to ensure the midterm election Tuesday goes much smoother than the chaotic 2020 general election, including moving the mail-in vote tally away from outside windows.
Detroit made national headlines in 2020 after images and videos surfaced of pro-Trump supporters crowding outside the ballot tally room in the Huntington Place Convention Center — formally called the TCF Center – and shouting "stop the count."
Democratic voters converged on the scene and election challengers demanded they be allowed to enter the room and observe the counting process.
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"The area where the Central Counting Board activity took place in 2020 was unusual because the main floor of the venue was still set up to be a field hospital" a spokesperson for the nonpartisan Detroit Votes voter information campaign told The Detroit News Tuesday, explaining the space was used for overflow COVID patients.
Polls site assessor Melvin Neavins stands ready to help at the First Congregational Church polling location on Nov. 8, 2022, in Detroit. (Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images)
Matt Friedman said the chaos that unfolded was in part due to the fact that absentee ballot counting had to be conducted in a different space.
"Observers who were not a part of the count operation could see through the windows and draw their own conclusions about what they thought was happening inside the operation and spread messages all over the world," Friedman told the local publication.
Officials said they are confident following not only the primaries this year, but two elections in 2021 that the count, which will reportedly return to exhibit Hall A on the main floor, will be far less chaotic this election cycle.
A crowd chants "stop the count," and pounds on the glass windows and doors to the entrance of the Central Counting Board in the TCF Center after partisan election challengers were told that the capacity for election challengers has been met on Nov. 4, 2020, in Detroit. (Elaine Cromie/Getty Images)
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"There are no windows where anyone from the outside will be able to peer through and attempt to disrupt the count operation," Friedman explained.
Deputy Detroit Police Chief Franklin Hayes also said the convention center will be a weapon-free zone and security screenings will be mandatory upon entry.
"We are prepared to ensure that the will of the people through their vote not be disrupted…in any way," he reportedly said, noting that a security plan has been put in place that he hopes they "don't have to use."
Election officials said poll challengers will also be handled differently this time around.
Challengers will still be allowed to be in the room as the count takes place, but 158 observers from each party will be stationed at different points in the room – meaning they will not be allowed to roam the room and disrupt those tallying the results.
Protestors attend a rally calling for every vote to be counted from yesterday's general election near the Detroit Department of Elections building in Detroit Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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One challenger will be stationed at each counting table and four challengers per party can observe the tabulators. They will also be required to sign in and out and must be credentialed by a political party, the local outlet reported.
"Our operations are better than ever," adviser to Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey, Chris Thomas, said. "We learned a lot from 2020.
"We're prepared…and we're ready to get these things counted as quickly and as accurately as possible," he added.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/detroit-mail-in-vote-count-moved-away-room-windows-officials-say-they-learned-lot-2020