Forlini: 3rd Party Voter Registration Drives Can Result In Data Harvesting, Often Duplicate Applications
(Source: MIRS.news, Published 09/23/2026) (MOUNT CLEMENS) – Republican Secretary of State nominee Anthony Forlini today said third-party groups collecting and transporting voter registration forms open up folks' private details to harvesters with bad intentions. The drives also produced repeat applications from already-registered voters, he said, adding to clerks’ workload.
Forlini, the Macomb County clerk, joined clerks from Clinton Township, Mount Clemens, Roseville and Center Line in front of a stack of more than 5,000 voter registration forms. They claimed about 90% of them were either duplicates from an already-registered voter or errors like incorrect birthdays and addresses.
"What happens when a clerk receives thousands of applications that need to be individually reviewed? It takes time away from serving legitimate voters. It takes away from preparing for an election," Forlini said. "There's another issue that deserves more attention. This is one that concerns me. What happens to the personal information on these applications before they reach the clerk?"
Forlini, who served in the state House from 2011 through 2016, said that Michigan law allows third-parties to run voter registration drives. He explained there are no registration or training mandates for organizations conducting a drive.
Because registration forms ask for driver's license numbers, Social Security numbers and dates of birth, Forlini expressed fears of identity theft when the forms are collected on the streets.
Mount Clemens City Clerk Cathleen Martin said every time she gets a big stack of registration forms, sent by the county in a manila envelope, "it's a depressing day."
"Because it's just a waste of time. They're already registered," Martin said.
She added that sometimes, when already-registered voters get application forms in the mail from third-parties, they become angry with her office. Martin said they'd ask if she unregistered them.
Martin has also heard of third-parties paying folks to collect the forms.
Several elections ago, the state had questions regarding the address of one of Martin's constituents, who was frustrated by the situation. When Martin showed her the form with the wrong address, the woman said she was approached by someone circulating applications inside a Walmart.
Due to her daughter having a fit, Martin said the woman left the store and "they filled out the rest for her, which is illegal."
Forlini said Chesterfield has received 47 applications for one person. Jennifer Zelmanski, the Roseville city clerk, added that her office has 10 applications for one person.
Another speaker was Janice Pockrandt, who works as both the deputy city manager and deputy clerk for Center Line. She said her city has a senior citizen tower where public safety officers have been called to multiple times because of third-party application circulators.
"These people are going in from this third party, and they're actually really trying to intimidate our voters, our registered voters, to get them to fill out these documents again, and a couple of them have been threatened," Pockrandt said. "It's a huge issue, especially for our senior citizens because they don't know. They just assume that they need to fill this document out."
Clinton Township Clerk Kim Meltzer served in the House as a Republican from 2007 through 2010. Right now, her staff includes herself, a deputy clerk and an interim elections coordinator serving a community of more than 100,000.
She said registration drives never used to be so problematic, but today she worries that word is spreading that they're an opportunity to data mine.
"By submitting and relying upon a third-party person to take your personally identifiable information, they can scan that. They can take that information, sell it prior to it getting to us," Meltzer said. "We want you to come to the clerk's office or go to the state of Michigan's website, MVIC, and register there. That way, when you do that, it'll tell you right away if you're already registered."
