Debunking Common Voting Misinformation

City and county officials talk election myths, advice for voters, and the importance of civic engagement

The United States has one of the strongest electoral systems in the world, with rigorous rules, safety checks, authenticity fail-safes, and other measures in each state designed to detect voter fraud. Yet, as the 2026 midterm election comes into view, myths, concerns, and anxieties surrounding voting and the electoral process resurge.

We checked in with officials in charge of elections in the City of Traverse City and Grand Traverse County to get their take on how elections are run and what voters can do if they have concerns.

Sarah Lutz, City Clerk of Traverse City

Sarah Lutz describes the city clerk’s office as “Google for Government.” “The clerk’s office is the central hub for questions residents have for how things work in the city, and how city operations interact with and affect residents,” Lutz says.

From keeping records to preparing city commission packets to handling permits, licensing, and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, the clerk’s office stays busy year-round, but especially during election season.

“Traverse City elects much of its own local leadership, like the mayor and city commissioners,” Lutz says. “We also have city-specific ballot proposals, and we obviously also vote on state and federal ballot items along with everyone else.”

As for voting misunderstandings, Lutz says the most common one involves geography. Traverse City has a population of about 16,000, but Grand Traverse County has about 97,000, meaning many voters live near Traverse City but not within the city limits.

“The most common question we get from a voter is, ‘Why can’t I vote on this year’s Traverse City-specific issues?’” Lutz says. “I ask the voter where they live, and then I explain that, even if they have a Traverse City mailing address, if they’re not within the city limits, they can’t vote on city-specific issues. But they can vote on their township-specific issues.”

Voting Machines and Voter ID

During the 2020 election, the Trump administration and its legal team spread the claim that voting machines secretly changed votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. State election officials, independent auditors hired by the Trump administration, and the administration’s own federal cybersecurity experts found no evidence of vote switching or machine tampering, and hand recounts and physical ballot audits closed the case, leading to judicial dismissals of the administration’s more than 60 lawsuits alleging voter fraud.

However, myths about voting machines persist, and Lutz says her office rigorously tests voting machines every election season, including by feeding them faulty information like double ballots or blank ballots and checking to ensure the machines catch the errors. Lutz reminds us the public can watch city officials test voting machines.

Lutz says another common question her office fields is concerns over voter ID. “When you register to vote, you must bring the necessary documentation to prove you are a U.S. citizen and a resident,” Lutz says. “When you vote, you are attesting and showing that you are eligible to vote, and you’re doing so under felony threat if your attestation is deemed fraudulent.”

Samuel Gedman, County Clerk of Grand Traverse County

Samuel Gedman describes the county clerk’s role in elections as managerial, as the county helps townships and cities manage and run their elections. Before becoming County Clerk, Gedman served as Elections Manager for six years.

“One of the biggest challenges we face is folks getting outside information that confuses them and leads them to doubt the system,” Gedman tells us. “Third party organizations often send misleading mailers to residents in the lead-up to an election, telling the resident they are no longer registered or that their voter registration was deemed invalid. These are usually efforts to boost turnout and get residents activated for the election, but it’s also a scare tactic and it feeds into myths about faulty voter rolls and election malfeasance.”

Gedman goes on to say that the county must follow state and federal law on voter rolls, which he frequently explains to residents when it comes to deceased voters.

“Another myth we hear from time to time is that, if a deceased person is still on the voter rolls, that must be proof of malfeasance and that ‘the deceased person is voting,’” Gedman says. “Federal laws designed to protect our rights to the ballot clearly state that a registered voter must miss two federal elections before we at the county level can remove them from the voter rolls.”

The Brennan Center for Justice, the Election Law Journal, the Government Accountability Office, and the Heritage Foundation have all conducted extensive analyses of U.S. elections and found that most voter fraud allegations come down to human error during voting. The remaining cases are prosecuted, though they represent just a few dozen voters per election cycle in a country where tens of millions vote.

Tabulating the Results and Election Audits

Because the county serves a managerial role by guiding townships and cities through the election process, Gedman says most of the questions his office fields concern what happens after townships and cities turn their results over to the county. He says that a common concern is how long it takes to tabulate results.

“We value security and accuracy over speed, and we don’t use the internet to transfer voter results from townships and cities to the county,” Gedman begins. “Results come in from across the county in the form of physical transfers of flash drives so that nothing is hitting an outside server or the internet before everything can be verified and audited. That’s how we follow physical and cyber security laws.”

Gedman says the county is also responsible for election audits. These involve hand tallies and recounts to ensure the paper ballots align with the machine count.

“And in Michigan elections, you can watch everything,” Gedman adds. “Our election laws are so focused on transparency that you have the right to come in and watch the accuracy testing of the machines. You can watch us verify the results.”

Gedman continues, explaining that citizens “can watch the election take place as an election inspector. You can become a credentialed challenger. You can watch us reconcile the precincts at the end of the evening [Election Day]. The board of canvassers convenes at the end of the election and they review everything, and you can watch that process, too. The training process for the canvassers is also open to the public. And the audit process is open, too.”

“If You Have Questions, We are Here to Answer Them”

Lutz and Gedman emphasized the importance of civic engagement and their openness to fielding questions from the public.

“Elections are infrequent enough that it’s tricky for the average person to commit to memory the rules and systems in place to ensure our elections are free and fair,” Lutz says. “We get lots of questions about early and absentee voting, election inspectors, mail-in voting deadlines, etc., and we encourage voters to contact us directly and we’ll walk them through it.”

“We sometimes hear the misconception that the election is something that’s run by far-off administrators in Lansing or D.C., when in fact elections are a community event that is administered by local people who you probably know and who are excited about having an election,” Gedman adds.

“These are people in the community who are accountable to you,” Gedman concludes. “If you want to see how elections work, talk to your city, township, or county clerk. Your involvement is encouraged. And we always, always need precinct inspectors. We’re happy to answer questions and dispel myths, because we are local and accountable to you. Just give us a call or stop by.”

Traverse City residents can reach the City Clerk’s Office at (231) 922-4480. Grand Traverse County residents can reach the County Clerk’s Office at (231) 922-4760.

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