{"id":2356614,"date":"2024-10-18T09:24:01","date_gmt":"2024-10-18T13:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fewer-ballot-requests-could-explain-higher-return-rate-in-detroit\/"},"modified":"2024-10-18T09:26:07","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T13:26:07","slug":"fewer-ballot-requests-could-explain-higher-return-rate-in-detroit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fewer-ballot-requests-could-explain-higher-return-rate-in-detroit\/","title":{"rendered":"Fewer Ballot Requests Could Explain Higher Return Rate In Detroit"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffewer-ballot-requests-could-explain-higher-return-rate-in-detroit%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2356614&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In Detroit, more\u2063 than 40% of absentee ballots sent to voters\u200c have been returned, raising concerns regarding potential ballot\u200c harvesting \u2063amidst \u2062memories of issues during the 2020 elections. Data reveals that while 100,470 absentee ballots\u2063 have been sent and 41,235 returned (a 41% return rate), this return rate is higher than the 26% seen at the same time in 2020, when more ballots were requested. However, some analysts\u2063 suggest that the current high return rate \u2063is also related to a\u200d significant decrease in ballot requests\u2014down from 142,622 in\u2064 2020 to 102,401\u2063 now\u2014indicating possibly less \u200denthusiasm \u200damong voters,\u2062 especially in some communities.<\/p>\n<p>The article highlights the work of organizations like America First\u200b Works that have noted a decrease in engagement from certain voter demographics, particularly Muslim \u2064communities, due to dissatisfaction with the Democratic candidates. absentee voting \u2064in Michigan is \u200dlower compared to the 2020 \u200celections, with over 672,000 ballots cast so \u2062far, compared to over 977,000 at the same point in \u200dthe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chuck-schumer-tied-pac-took-81m-from-dark-money-group-as-he-decried-special-interests\/\" title=\"Schumer-linked PAC received M from &#039;dark money&#039; group while criticizing special interests.\">previous election\u200d cycle<\/a>. As the\u200b election approaches, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/prominent-pollsters-election-model-shows-surge-for-trump-as-kamala-gets-bad-news-from-swing-states\/\" title=\"Prominent Pollster&#039;s Election Model Shows Surge for Trump as Kamala Gets Bad News from Swing States\">polling trends suggest<\/a> that\u2062 former President Donald Trump has recently surpassed \u200bVice President Kamala Harris in Michigan polls, further framing the evolving dynamics \u200cof voter participation and enthusiasm \u200dleading into the election.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>More than 40 percent of absentee ballots sent to voters in Detroit have already been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox2detroit.com\/news\/michigan-reports-670k-residents-have-already-voted-absentee-including-41k-detroit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">returned<\/a>, sparking concerns about Democrat ballot harvesting among people who remember the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/12\/01\/michigan-poll-workers-testify-on-election-violations-calling-detroit-ballot-counting-a-madhouse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suspicious<\/a> events that <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/11\/12\/lawsuit-claims-40000-plus-fraudulent-ballots-pumped-through-detroit-for-joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">plagued<\/a> the city in 2020. But the data also indicates the return rate spike might have more to do with a <em>decrease<\/em> in ballots being requested, rather than a significant increase in ballots being returned this early.<\/p>\n<p>Detroit has sent 100,470 absentee ballots and received 41,235 &mdash; a 41 percent return rate, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/sos\/resources\/news\/2024\/10\/15\/more-than-670k-michigan-voters-have-cast-absentee-ballots-three-weeks-before-general-election\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">data<\/a> released by the secretary of state&rsquo;s office on Tuesday. At the same point in the 2020 presidential election (Oct. 12), the city had issued 132,879 absentee ballots and only received 34,735 &mdash; a 26 percent return rate. An X user <a href=\"https:\/\/portal.votehub.us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">affiliated<\/a> with the group VoteHub pointed out that Detroit&rsquo;s return rate was in a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/umichvoter\/status\/1845880879337423119?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1845880879337423119%7Ctwgr%5E1e3a175e2241215040a52075a046942c0b284399%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthefederalist.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D331931action%3Dedit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">league of its own<\/a>&rdquo; compared to other jurisdictions in the state.<\/p>\n<p>However, the raw number of people returning ballots this early in Detroit isn&rsquo;t wildly different than it was this time last presidential election. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to prevent anyone from identifying red flags, but this is kind of standard,&rdquo; Ashley Hayek, executive director of America First Works, which is conducting voter canvassing in Michigan and elsewhere, told The Federalist.<\/p>\n<p>Of the absentee ballots cast so far in Detroit, 70 percent were also returned more than two weeks before the 2020 election, Hayek said, citing data obtained by America First Works. Sixteen percent of the total were from voters who returned absentee ballots within two weeks of Election Day 2020, 5 percent were from voters who voted in person last time, and only 8 percent were from people who did not vote in 2020, she noted.<\/p>\n<p>Large turnout ahead of the election is not necessarily unusual, Hayek said, due to digital advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts which often <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/18\/google-directs-americans-searching-for-voter-registration-info-to-left-wing-elections-group\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">target<\/a> the left. <\/p>\n<p>What is substantially different in Detroit this time around is the number of absentee ballots requested: down to 102,401 as of Tuesday compared to 142,622 at this point in the race in 2020. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It means that there is less enthusiasm for their candidate,&rdquo; Hayek said, noting that her group&rsquo;s canvassers on the ground have seen less turnout from Muslim communities in Detroit.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>&ldquo;We have had Muslim-American canvassers on the ground since July. They speak Arabic, they speak Farsi. They have been in specifically Wayne County,&rdquo; Hayek said. &ldquo;The lack of enthusiasm is pretty remarkable, that we&rsquo;ve heard so far.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Anti-Israel groups urged Muslims to vote against President Joe Biden in Michigan&rsquo;s Democrat primaries this year, with an &ldquo;uncommitted&rdquo; vote <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/28\/biden-lost-in-dearborn-again-proving-radical-is-the-new-mainstream-in-the-democrat-party\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">defeating<\/a> him in enclaves near Detroit like Dearborn, as The Federalist reported. And after Vice President Kamala Harris <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/24\/democrats-forced-joe-biden-to-drop-out-how-did-they-do-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">seized<\/a> the party&rsquo;s nomination from Biden, Muslim-American groups <a href=\"https:\/\/amtaskforce.org\/2024\/09\/20\/american-muslim-2024-election-task-force-calls-on-muslim-voters-to-turn-out-support-candidates-who-back-permanent-ceasefire-arms-embargo-and-other-just-policies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">refused<\/a> to endorse her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Across the state of Michigan, the number of absentee ballots cast at this point in the race is down compared to 2020. The Michigan secretary of state&rsquo;s office announced more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/sos\/resources\/news\/2024\/10\/15\/more-than-670k-michigan-voters-have-cast-absentee-ballots-three-weeks-before-general-election\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">672,000<\/a> absentee ballots had already been cast statewide as of Tuesday. At the same time in 2020, more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/sos\/resources\/news\/2024\/10\/15\/more-than-670k-michigan-voters-have-cast-absentee-ballots-three-weeks-before-general-election\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">977,000<\/a> absentee ballots had been cast.<\/p>\n<p>Former President Donald Trump recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/president\/general\/2024\/michigan\/trump-vs-harris\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">surpassed Harris<\/a> in Michigan polls for the first time since July, according to RealClearPolitics.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t focus on polls. I focus on ballot returns, and at the end of the day, our people still are not super comfortable with vote by mail,&rdquo; Hayek said.&nbsp;&ldquo;We have canvassers on the ground, and at the end of the day, the majority of conservative voters prefer to vote on Election Day.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>She said conservatives have reason to be hesitant about voting by mail, considering postal carriers&rsquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nalc.org\/news\/nalc-updates\/nalc-endorses-harris-walz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">endorsement<\/a> of Harris. The Federalist recently uncovered that the National Association of Letter Carriers <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/25\/exclusive-postal-union-sends-letter-calling-trump-existential-threat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a> Trump an &ldquo;existential threat&rdquo; in a letter to its members.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Republicans need to make sure that they take advantage of early vote, and they also need to make sure that they&rsquo;re turning out their family and friends to vote too,&rdquo; Hayek said. &ldquo;Because at the end of the day, this is going to be a very, very close election.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Republican National Committee <a href=\"https:\/\/prod-static.gop.com\/media\/documents\/2024.10.15_Verified_Complaint_RNC-Detroit_as_filed31302801.1_1729087199.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sued<\/a> the Detroit Department of Elections this week, accusing the city of &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/detroit-accused-of-deleting-ballot-drop-box-surveillance-footage\/\" title=\"Detroit Accused Of Deleting Ballot Drop Box Surveillance Footage\">deleting drop box surveillance footage<\/a> after [the party] had requested it.&rdquo; In a <a href=\"https:\/\/gop.com\/press-release\/rnc-sues-detroit-for-deleting-dropbox-surveillance-footage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">release<\/a>, RNC Chair Michael Whatley called this an &ldquo;assault on transparency.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><em>For more election news and updates, visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/electionbriefing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">electionbriefing.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Logan Washburn is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawsuit-clark-county-keeps-commercial-addresses-on-voter-rolls\/\" title=\"Lawsuit: Clark County Keeps Commercial Addresses On Voter Rolls\">staff writer covering election integrity<\/a>. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo&#8217;s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is originally from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over 40% of absentee ballots in Detroit are returned, raising concerns about ballot harvesting, but the spike may relate to fewer ballots requested<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":507,"featured_media":2356615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/7895643084_65ffe29f9b_k-e1664943152707.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[43274,43275,33358],"class_list":["post-2356614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ballot-requests","tag-detroit-elections","tag-voter-turnout"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/7895643084_65ffe29f9b_k-e1664943152707.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2356614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/507"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2356614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2356614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2356615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2356614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2356614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2356614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}