Detroit Election Workers Describe 'Aggressive' Poll Challengers

DETROIT, MI — This wasn't Cynthia Duquette's first time working as an election official, but she'd never seen anything like it.

On Election Day, she was one of many people inside the TCF Center in Detroit processing absentee ballots. But the task at hand grew difficult when dozens of people — the majority of whom were supporters of President Donald Trump, upset that large number of absentee ballots favored Democratic candidate Joe Biden — lined up outside the former Cobo Arena, chanting.

Things grew intense inside the arena at times as well, with challengers being "aggressive" and not following some procedures. Duquette said she didn't feel threatened or that she was at risk of being harmed, but said she thought the election process was threatened.

"(I felt) that the overall strength and integrity of the American electoral process is threatened by the emphasis on distrust and challenging," she told Patch. "I believe there is a role for challenging, but it should be just one element that is implemented with the mutual trust of those responsible to carry out the election process."

Duquette had previously worked as a precinct inspector at a polling location with the City of Ferndale for two elections. But after moving to Detroit in 2017, she became involved with the election process there.

The bevy of protesters outside the arena were joined by ballot challengers inside the arena who were aggressive and did not follow some procedures, according to workers inside the arena.

In Michigan, registered poll challengers are allowed to be present. They can stand or sit behind the processing table, can remain in the polling place after polls close and can look over results. But there are many things they are not permitted to do, such as touch or handle election materials, use recording devices or approach voters.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan poll challengers also are required to wear face coverings and keep their distance from others while inside.

Duquette said it was frustrating that organizations that recruited the challengers did "so little to train them."

"There were too many instances of challengers talking to workers when they should have spoken only with supervisors, of challengers asking supervisors how to do their job, of challengers not respecting COVID safe spacing," she said. "Any organization placing challengers in the middle of the voting process should take greater responsibility to prepare them to do their work responsibly and respectfully."

Dozens of activists stood outside the TCF Center Wednesday, chanting "Stop the count!" Republican groups recruiting people from around the state to come to Detroit, many of whom were not even from Michigan, according to Michigan Advance.

Detroit police formed a barrier between the protesters and entry ways into the arena, where ballots were being counted.

Protesters appeared upset over Biden's growing lead over Trump, who won Michigan by fewer than 11,000 votes in 2016 but saw a strong lead diminish once absentee ballots and votes from people in Detroit and Wayne County were tallied.

The Associated Press and other media outlets declared Biden the winner in Michigan on Wednesday. Trump in news conferences and on social media called into question the absentee voting process.

"They are finding Biden votes all over the place — in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan," he tweeted. "So bad for our Country!"

The Trump campaign filed a lawsuit to stop election ballots from being counted in Michigan, arguing that challengers weren't allowed to oversee the ballot counting process. But a judge on Thursday dismissed the lawsuit, and those inside the TCF Center say there were ballot challengers for both major political parties. They also said they didn't notice any issues with the counting process.

Chiara Clayton, who was working in her first election after being recruited by the city, said a significant amount of training ahead of Election Day allowed for a smooth process inside TCF.

"We went through 8 hours of training before election week so we were prepared," she said. "The only issues were from some of the poll challengers who were aggressive or combative with the poll workers during the counting process."

"I did not notice any issues of significance or concern with ballots or the processing procedures," Duquette said. "Any of the very limited number of questions that arose were addressed following defined protocols."

Melanie Grund, a Democrat Challenger at TCF, said it was uplifting to be a part of the election process, but depressing to see "the ugly side."

"How we overcome the chasm between all of us is a conundrum but I simply must believe we can find a path back to the basic respect for our fellow humans," she said.

Grund said she did not see or hear of any issues with the counting process, noting that it's "very detailed" and has contingencies built into it.

"The elections inspectors, many of whom were doing this for the first time, were well trained and very dedicated to counting every vote accurately," she said. "It is a tedious and laborious process to count AV ballots and it simply takes time."