Lansing City Clerk Chris Swope is warning residents that third-party voter registration letters arriving in mailboxes may contain inaccurate information about their registration status.
Swope said in a social media post Thursday, Sept. 3, that some Lansing residents have received mailings from the Voter Participation Center or its affiliate, the Center for Voter Information, according to WILX. The letters did not come from his office, Swope said, and may include outdated or inaccurate data about whether a recipient is registered to vote.
The warning comes two months before the Tuesday, Nov. 3, midterm election.
Swope urged residents who have questions about their registration to check through the Michigan Voter Information Center, the state's official lookup tool maintained by the Michigan Department of State. The site lets voters confirm registration status, find polling places and apply for absentee ballots.
It is not the first time Swope has pushed back against outside claims about Lansing's voter rolls. On July 30, he responded to Department of Justice letters questioning the city's election practices ahead of the Aug. 4 primary, telling The State News that "claims in the letter to Lansing about difficult or abnormal voting practices are simply false."
That dispute involved federal election monitors, a separate matter from the third-party mailers. In both cases, Swope pushed back publicly against claims about Lansing elections that he said were inaccurate.
Several key election deadlines are approaching, according to the Michigan Secretary of State's website. Absentee ballots become available Thursday, Sept. 24. The last day to register online or by mail is Monday, Oct. 19. Michigan's constitutionally mandated early voting period runs Saturday, Oct. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 1, with hours varying by location. Michigan also allows same-day registration at a local clerk's office with proof of residency through Election Day.
Residents can reach the Lansing City Clerk's office at (517) 483-4177 or [email protected].
