Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Michigan’s elections are based on a lot of checks and balances and local voters can feel confident when it comes to election security.

That’s according to Livingston County Clerk Betsy Hundley. She says election administrators want voters to cast ballots in a manner they’re comfortable with but they should know the absentee ballot process in the county is secure.

All absentee ballots are counted on Election Day and will be processed within local counting boards except for Unadilla Township. Their absentee ballots are processed in the precincts by poll workers on Election Day.
All other jurisdictions in Livingston County have counting boards.

Hundley says it’s a big task in which workers strive very hard to get ballots processed efficiently, ensure voter secrecy and make sure all ballots are processed and tallied correctly.

Hundley says they ask that voters be patient when waiting for un-official election results on Election Night. She stressed they have to be cautious, even when posting un-official results, because it’s gotten to the point where election administrators live in fear of making a mistake.

Hundley told WHMI that local clerks take their oath of office very seriously, try very hard to not make any mistakes, and pride themselves on doing the best job possible for all residents of Livingston County. That being said, Hundley noted they are “all still human”. She says they’ll continue to do the best that they can, even in this challenging climate - adding local clerks go above and beyond trying to explain processes because they want the public to have confidence in the election tabulations and the results in Livingston County.

Hundley says elections are built on checks and balances between the county, cities and townships and there are processes in place so if there is a mistake or an error, it’s caught and they can make a correction. There are also processes involving election inspectors from the two major political parties.

Information is available on the county clerk’s website detailing all of the security measures that take place before an election, on election day and then following an election. A link is provided.