Hi there, Michigan! 

I published a story this week that I’ve been working on in some form since late November, and I want to tell you how it came together. The story, on how ballot curing is likely to be the new secret weapon for campaigns in the state, started back in November when I learned just how many cured ballots Hamtramck had in their election.

As I wrote in the story, Hamtramck had more than 100 cured ballots, a notably higher number than other Wayne County jurisdictions. That’s more cured ballots than much larger cities with significantly more voters had.  

So I got the list of voters who cured their ballots from city officials, which included, among other details, their names and addresses. I printed dozens of copies of a letter explaining what I was doing and went off to Hamtramck to talk to voters about what they had heard.

I stood on people’s porches during 20-degree days in December and asked them: Why did you cure your ballot? Who told you to do it?

Many of them told me that they had heard from close friends and loved ones, folks who worked for or supported a specific campaign, who told them to go fix their ballot. (In a few cases, neighbors or family members helped translate for voters who spoke other languages, which allowed for a much fuller conversation than if we tried to talk exclusively in English or in Arabic or Bengali or any of the other languages I unfortunately do not speak.)

From there, my genius editors flagged that ballot curing is actually pretty standard in other states, so it set the stage for a new question: Why don’t we do it more here in Michigan if it’s now allowed? The lists of voters who need to cure their ballots are public record, after all.

I talked to officials all over the U.S. about the reasons, and that led to the story you see now. I hope you’ll give it a read. Sometimes, stories take a long time behind the scenes to come to fruition, and I think the end result here was worth the very, very cold days knocking on doors.

My next email to you will be just before the Michigan Democratic Endorsement Convention later this month. I wrote about the Republican convention this weekend, where Anthony Forlini handily won his spot on the ticket. I’m curious — what are you wanting to see from the next secretary of state, regardless of party? What questions do you have ahead of the general election in November? Send ’em all my way. I’m at [email protected].

And if you know someone else who spends a lot of time thinking about our elections, please encourage them to subscribe to this newsletter! It’s the best elections-focused newsletter that also features exclusive pictures of my rabbits, Puff and Honey, in the entire world. I say this with authority.

Speaking of, here’s Puff, attempting to help me start my seedlings for my garden a few weeks ago. They’re off to a solid start, I assume all thanks to his hard work.

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