Established Fact
A $7.4 million CTCL grant funded Detroit’s deployment of 30 drop boxes across the city for the 2020 general election. Observers documented that absentee ballots were transported from these drop boxes and satellite centers to the Detroit Department of Elections and then onward to the TCF Center in large commercial Penske rental trucks — without chain-of-custody documentation meeting even the baseline standards set by Michigan’s own collection log requirements: no log entries with ballot numbers, times, or names of transporters were recorded. When a citizen filed a FOIA request for drop box surveillance footage, the City of Detroit deleted the footage while the request was pending, responding that “the video is no longer available after 30 days and is recorded over” — prompting a lawsuit by the Republican National Committee alleging a direct violation of Michigan’s FOIA statute. This evasion of public records obligations mirrors the pattern documented in Wisconsin and Georgia.
Citations
Capital Research Center, CTCL Michigan Grants Analysis (Form 990 data): Detroit received $7,435,000 from CTCL’s COVID-19 Response Grant program. Available at: https://capitalresearch.org/app/uploads/CTCL-Michigan-Updated-Data-Set-from-990.xlsxhttps://capitalresearch.org/app/uploads/CTCL-Michigan-Updated-Data-Set-from-990.xlsx
City of Detroit, Department of Elections, Satellite Vote Centers & Drop Box SitesS (official flyer, October 2020): “This year Detroit has added 30 Drop Box Sites and 23 Satellite Vote Centers for Detroiters to register, vote and drop off their completed absentee ballot.” Available at: https://detroitmi.gov/sites/detroitmi.localhost/files/2020-10/2020%20Vote%20Centers%20and%20Drop%20Boxes%20Flyer%20.pdf
Philip O’Halloran, Michigan Citizens for Election Integrity, firsthand account and affidavit (November 2020), as reported in: Patty McMurray, “Back Alleys and Blank Ballots,” The Gateway Pundit (November 12, 2021): “No meaningful chain of custody when thousands of voted absentee ballots were transported from any of 30 satellite centers or drop boxes to the Detroit Department of Elections (DOE) on West Grand Blvd or between the DOE and the TCF Center on Washington Blvd…. More ballots transferred from DOE to TCF Center in large Penske trucks with poor, if any, chain of custody methods; no log entries with ballot numbers, times, or names of transporters.” [Note: This account rests on O’Halloran’s personal affidavit; no independent government document corroborates the specific transport observations.] Available at: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/11/back-alleys-blank-ballots-mi-election-integrity-experts-explain-2020-election-stolen-detroit-video/
Michigan Secretary of State, AV Drop Box Collection Log TemplateAV Drop Box Collection Log Template (official template): establishes required chain-of-custody documentation — name of collecting individual, date and time, drop box location. Available at: https://www.michigan.gov/sos/-/media/Project/Websites/sos/Elections/Election-transparency/AV-Drop-Box-Collection-Log—Template.docxhttps://www.michigan.gov/sos/-/media/Project/Websites/sos/Elections/Election-transparency/AV-Drop-Box-Collection-Log—Template.docx
Koch v. City of Detroit Department of Elections (filed October 2024), as reported by CBS Detroit (October 18, 2024): Jonathan Koch submitted a FOIA request on August 20, 2024 for drop box surveillance footage; the City acknowledged the request on August 21 then deleted the footage, responding on September 16 that “the video is no longer available after 30 days and is recorded over.” The RNC stated: “Deleting footage that is the subject of a pending FOIA request — submitted more than two weeks before the footage was deleted — is a clear violation of FOIA.” Available at: https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/rnc-lawsuit-detroit-deleting-drop-box-surveillance-footage/