Michigan Needs Your Eyes on Election Sites. Join the PIME Tour
A phone camera. A few clerk's offices. Volunteers can help Michigan's election run in the open.
From today through Election Day, November 3, Pure Integrity Michigan Elections (PIME) is putting volunteers on the road for the PIME Tour of Michigan. The job is simple: visit election sites, record what you see, and send any irregularities in. Please identify yourself and describe what you are documenting: who, what, where, and when. Email to: TourOfMichigan@proton.me.
Why join?
Trust in elections grows when people can see the process. Public attention also discourages people from considering breaking the rules. Volunteers are the heart of that effort, and most of what they record will probably be routine. That is good news too!
What you will do
Visit. Stop by a public site, such as a city or township clerk's office. A short visit is enough.
Record. Take a photo or a short video. Keep it steady and keep it simple.
Report. Write down where you were, when, and what the footage shows. Email or text it to TourOfMichigan@proton.me.
No experience is needed. You can cover your own town or plan a trip with friends.
Where we need you
PIME's priority list includes 12 counties and about 30 cities and townships. Twelve spots are marked "high interest," including Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Muskegon, and Benton Harbor. Smaller communities matter too. Statewide coverage depends on volunteers like you.
Do it right
The Tour only works if volunteers follow the rules:
Never photograph ballots or people voting.
Stay lawful. Follow the clerk's rules and any recording limits. A summary of Michigan guidance says other photography and video are not allowed within 100 feet of a polling place on Election Day, so check with the local clerk first.
Don't interfere. Voter intimidation is illegal. See the Michigan Attorney General's election protection page for examples and never block entrances or crowd voters.
Describe, don't diagnose. Report what you saw and say whether it is an observed irregularity or a verified violation. They are not the same thing.
Be friendly. If staff ask you to stop or leave, do so politely.
Stick to the facts
Part of the Tour's focus comes from questions about 2020 registration forms in Muskegon. Some of PIME's focus comes from GBI Strategies, a voter-registration company. In 2020, a police report in Muskegon described suspicious registration forms. Analysis of the activities of this group indicates a highly organized and well-funded election operation that was active across Michigan and other states.
In fact, this group logged over 7,900 hours of canvassing across nine cities in Michigan in 2020, and 104 packages filled with suspicious registrations were sent out to multiple clerks across Michigan in 2020. Michigan State Police even conducted warranted searches at three critical GBI Strategies’ locations in the cities of Muskegon Heights, Grand Haven, and Southfield in October 2020.
Volunteers who share what they see accurately keep the Tour credible.
Sign up Today
Email TourOfMichigan@proton.me to get involved. Bring your phone, bring a friend, and help keep Michigan's election in the open.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
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