Possible Breach in Ballot Secrecy Discovered in Michigan

Publicly available data could reveal how some people voted, if the precinct is small, but masking the data might violate the Freedom of Information Act.

People cast early ballots in the general election at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Nov. 7, 2022. Eff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

Election officials in Michigan have revealed that the government, and anyone else, can know whom a person voted for in certain circumstances involving both federal and state elections.

The simple process—described by the state Bureau of Elections (BOE) in a July legal proceeding—involves cross-checking the “Type of Voting” column on the state’s Qualified Voter File (QVF) with a statutorily required posting of election results by county clerks.