RELEASE: Michigan County Clerks Take Historic Stand Against Ranked-Choice Voting
- Pure Integrity Michigan Elections
- 57 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Pure Integrity Michigan Elections and Michigan Conservative Coalition Commend Election Officials for Defending Electoral Integrity
MICHIGAN – October 16, 2025 – Pure Integrity Michigan Elections (PIME) and the Michigan Conservative Coalition (MCC) today applauded the Michigan Association of County Clerks (MACC) for its unanimous resolution opposing ranked-choice voting (RCV), an opaque and complex instant-runoff voting system.
On October 14, 2025, county clerks across Michigan—the professionals who administer our elections—voted unanimously to oppose this radical restructuring of Michigan’s electoral system.
The county clerk association’s resolution (below) marks a critical turning point in protecting the integrity and accessibility of Michigan elections.
“When the very people responsible for running our elections speak with one voice against a proposed system, Michigan voters should take notice,” said Patrice Johnson, chairperson of PIME. “These clerks aren’t politicians or activists. They’re the dedicated public servants who ensure every legal vote is counted accurately and transparently.”
“Michigan voters are used to knowing who won an election in a timely manner, so it’s incredibly important that we’re able to report accurate, unofficial results on election night,” Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons said in a press release from the association. “Determining a winner will take drastically longer under ranked-choice voting. Delayed results erode the public’s trust by fueling uncertainty and misinformation.”
The Real-World Consequences of RCV
The clerks’ concerns align with extensive research documented in the Michigan Fair Elections Institute’s comprehensive white paper, Ranked Choice Voting: A Threat to Our Electoral Process. The evidence is clear and troubling:
Voter Disenfranchisement: Research from San Francisco State University found RCV decreased turnout by 18% among Black voters and 16% among White voters. Princeton University research confirms that ballot elimination (exhaustion) is “concentrated in minority electoral precincts,” meaning the communities RCV proponents claim to help are actually harmed most.
Massive Ballot Nullification: Studies analyzing over three million ballots reveal that nearly 1 in 20 voters improperly mark RCV ballots—ten times higher than traditional voting. Combined with ballot elimination rates reaching as high as 53% in some elections, more than one-in-four ballots could effectively be discarded before the tabulation of final results.
Compromised Security: MIT researchers identified a fundamental security flaw in RCV’s instant-runoff mechanism that could enable vote buying and compromise ballot secrecy—vulnerabilities that are “baked into the rules” of RCV itself.
Failed Majority Representation: A Cornell University analysis of 182 RCV elections found that more than half demonstrated “majoritarian failure”—meaning winners did not secure a majority of total votes cast, despite RCV’s central promise.
Impossible Recounts: The clerks’ resolution highlights that RCV’s “multiple rounds of computerized vote reallocations” make transparent paper-ballot recounts “difficult, if not impossible,” a stark departure from Michigan’s trusted recount procedures.
“Michigan voters already rejected RCV once before,” noted Marian Sheridan, MCC Grassroots Engagement Director. “Ann Arbor repealed it in 1976 with 62% support after just one election cycle. The system failed then, and it’s failing in jurisdictions across America today.”
A Growing National Movement
Seventeen states have now banned the practice, and voters defeated RCV ballot measures in six states in 2024 alone—Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon. More than 39 U.S. localities have repealed RCV after trying it, and even London, England, abandoned the system in 2022 in favor of traditional winner-with-the-most votes (plurality) voting.
Recent polling shows 65% of Michiganders oppose RCV, yet well-funded outside interests continue pushing the system. As the Honest Elections Project documented, liberal megadonors spent $100 million in 2024 attempting to impose RCV on six states—and voters rejected every single initiative.
The Fiscal and Administrative Burden
Beyond democratic concerns, RCV imposes severe practical burdens. Maine clerks report 90% would favor repealing RCV, with more than two-thirds citing increased administrative burden. MIT research found RCV jurisdictions experience election costs “in excess of five standard deviations greater than expected.” Colorado estimates put implementation costs at $2.4 to 3 million upfront, with $350,000-400,000 annually—costs that ultimately fall on local taxpayers.
With Michigan’s 1,500+ city and township clerks and uniquely decentralized election structure, the administrative chaos would be unprecedented.
As the clerks’ resolution states, Michigan’s constitutional provisions and long-standing practices “are deeply interwoven,” so “layering an RCV system onto this framework risks disrupting a cohesive ecosystem that already ensures accessibility and transparency.”
A Nonpartisan Defense of Democracy
“This isn’t about partisan advantage. It’s about preserving a transparent, accountable election system that every Michigander can understand and trust,” said Patrice Johnson. “When Harvard researchers, MIT scientists, Princeton professors, and our own election officials all sound alarm bells, we must listen.”
The organizations urge Michigan voters to think twice before engaging petition circulators for the RankMIVote initiative and to contact their state legislators in support of legislation to ban RCV in Michigan. The Michigan House passed such a bill earlier in 2025.
“Our county clerks have done their duty by warning us,” Sheridan concluded. “Now it’s our duty as citizens to heed their warning and protect Michigan’s election integrity for future generations.”
About the Organizations:
Pure Integrity Michigan Elections, a nonprofit 501(c)4 organization, works to ensure transparent, accountable, and secure elections throughout Michigan through voter education, election oversight, and support for local election officials. Visit PIME at www.pureintegritymichigan elections and rcvalert.org. Please donate here.
Michigan Conservative Coalition is a grassroots organization dedicated to preserving constitutional principles, limited government, and election integrity across Michigan. Visit MCC at https://www.michiganconservativecoalition.com/
For more information:
Read the full MACC resolution below. Website: Michigan Association of County Clerks Resolution.
Access the MFEI white paper: Ranked Choice Voting: A Threat to Our Electoral Process
Learn more about RCV concerns: Stop RCV
Media Contact: Melanie Nivelt, PIME News & Commentary Media Relations Volunteer, 248.425.8896, www.PureIntegrityMichiganElections.org, melanierepresents@gmail.com, Mobile: 248-425-8896
MACC Resolution:
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