Hi there, Michigan.

I spent Election Day driving between polling locations, talking to clerks and voters, and bringing readers along for the ride. My editors and I stayed up past midnight to watch your ballots get counted. We do it for the love of the game, but we can’t keep it up without your support. Chip in to help Votebeat raise $8,000 by Dec. 31. Donate any amount to become a member for the entire year, and get access to exclusive members-only events.

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We made through the midterms! That wasn’t so bad, was it?

Of course, there was the brutal agony of waiting until the wee hours of the morning for race calls — as I wrote in 2024, we’ve sped up a lot but probably can’t go a whole lot faster when it comes to ballot counting. But a number of officials have told me that Tuesday went relatively smoothly.

Now we get to look at the hard work of governing. As you probably know by now, Michigan was one of the states to get swept up in the “blue wave” of Democratic victories. Here, where Democrats already control the governorship and the Michigan Senate, it might not have quite as big an impact as, say, Texas, but Democrats reclaiming control of the House means we’ll be able to expect some movement in the voting and elections realm.

I wrote about what a trifecta might look like for either party back in May, when it was mostly a theoretical exercise. Michigan Sen. Jeremy Moss (who on Tuesday won a U.S. House seat to become the state’s first openly gay congressional representative) told me at the time the big expectation would be that the Michigan Voting Rights Act finally becomes law. Longtime readers will remember the MVRA has made a number of appearances in recent years as Democrats try to fill gaps left by the federal Voting Rights Act. It has failed every time, though.

But now, with Democrats set to control both chambers and the governor’s mansion, it might finally have a shot. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (or should I say Governor-elect Jocelyn Benson) has expressed her support, as have a number of lawmakers. I expect that will be one of their first efforts, especially given that she mentioned it in her victory speech.

Another interesting development is Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist’s win over Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini in the secretary of state race on Tuesday. I wrote a bit about what we might expect that to look like in this story, but I’ve requested a sit-down with him in the coming days for more. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, here’s what else I’m watching:

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s victory means she will be the one appointing replacements for Board of State Canvassers Chair Richard Houskamp, a Republican, and Vice Chair Mary Ellen Gurewitz, a Democrat. Both parties’ central committees will submit nominations, but the governor ultimately chooses the canvassers, who certify statewide elections.
In the Michigan House, it looks like everyone on the House Election Integrity Committee (which I expect might be getting a new name under Democratic control) who ran for their seat again was able to hold on to it. Obviously, committees are a ways away from being announced, but it wouldn’t be surprising for at least a few folks currently on the committee to stick around.
The House elections committee is also likely to hold very different meetings under Democratic control. With Republicans in charge, we’d regularly hear presentations from right-wing speakers and groups that I assume won’t get an invitation with new leadership.
In the Michigan Senate, even though control isn’t changing, things are going to look very different. Not a single member will be returning, either because they didn’t run again (Chang, Wojno, McBroom, and Johnson) or because they ran for a different office (Moss and McMorrow). I’ll be watching closely to see what continuity might look like.
Canvassing is underway throughout the state. What will we see this time? I think straight refusals to certify may be unlikely, but in August, canvassing was how we learned about mistakes like Detroit accidentally disenfranchising 13 voters.
Record turnout means the bar for petition efforts to make the ballot will be higher than ever. A constitutional amendment needs signatures from 10% of the number of voters who cast ballots in the last gubernatorial election, which was about 450,000 signatures — now, unofficial numbers show that’ll be closer to 480,000 signatures.

These next few months will certainly be exciting. But I’ll still be watching even when things slow down. As my bosses are fond of saying, there are no “off years” for elections, especially since 2028 will be here before you know it.

If you know someone who would love to get updates on everything to come, encourage them to subscribe! And if you have any ideas on what I should be looking out, please reach out — my email is [email protected], but you can also find me on Twitter and Bluesky.

Until next time, here are some tremendously sleepy baby bunnies. May they be our inspiration after a late night of results-watching.

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The Big Story

Garlin Gilchrist wins Michigan secretary of state election

Democrat Garlin Gilchrist defeated Republican Anthony Forlini in the 2026 election for Michigan secretary of state, the state’s top election official.

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