Michigan secretary of state candidates weigh in on election transparency, Trump administration

Michigan voters choose a new secretary of state this fall, a job that will oversee the 2028 presidential election along with driver's licenses and campaign finance. Democrat Garlin Gilchrist says he would refuse to hand over the state's unredacted voter roll to the federal government, which has already sued Michigan once over access and lost at both the district and appeals court level. Republican Anthony Forlini declined to give a yes-or-no answer, saying he sees clean voter rolls as a shared goal regardless of who occupies the White House.

Both candidates say they want more transparency and a fixed campaign finance system, after years of complaints about the glitchy Michigan Transparency Network. Gilchrist has proposed a plan built around disclosing dark money before elections and faster enforcement of violations; Forlini points to work in Macomb County bringing campaign filings online and a tool letting voters view scanned ballots after elections.

The unredacted voter roll dispute could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court, meaning whoever wins in November may inherit a legal fight already a year old.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.