Established Fact
Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey retained Chris Thomas — former Director of the Michigan Bureau of Elections for 36 years under both Republican and Democratic secretaries of state — as a senior election consultant for the 2020 general election, as part of a partnership with the Michigan Secretary of State’s office. Thomas possessed comprehensive institutional knowledge of Michigan election law, system configurations, and state-vendor relationships accumulated across a career as the state’s chief election administrator. His role placed a private consultant with no direct statutory authority and no independent public accountability structure in operational control alongside the city clerk’s office during a contested presidential election. Thomas subsequently served as a key witness against fraud claims at multiple proceedings, including Wayne County Circuit Court and the Michigan Board of State Canvassers.
Citations
Christopher Thomas served as Director of the Michigan Bureau of Elections for 36 years (1981–2017) under both Republican and Democratic secretaries of state. Detroit Free Press, “Retiring Michigan elections director warns of ‘dark money,’” June 25, 2017, available at: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/06/25/chris-thomas/416923001/.
Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey retained Thomas as a consultant for the November 2020 election “as part of a partnership” with Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, following significant issues in Detroit’s August 2020 primary. Gongwer Michigan, “Slandering Chris Thomas Is New Low,” Nov. 9, 2020, available at: https://www.gongwer.com/programming/blogindex.cfm?postid=125901.
Thomas testified in a Wayne County Circuit Court proceeding challenging Detroit’s election certification, and addressed the Michigan Board of State Canvassers on November 23, 2020. His affidavit was cited as “compelling” by Judge Timothy Kenny (Nov. 13 opinion). The Republican-controlled Michigan Senate Oversight Committee cited Thomas more than any other witness in its report finding “no evidence of widespread or systemic fraud.” Alex Ebert, Bloomberg Government, “Meet the Technocrat Who Keeps Killing Trump Voter Fraud Claims,” available at: https://about.bgov.com/insights/news/meet-the-technocrat-who-keeps-killing-trump-voter-fraud-claims/.
Chris Thomas is the one who could not describe the absentee ballot vote tally chain of custody at the TCF Center in Detroit. TCF Timeline: The 2020 General Election in Detroit, https://drive.google.com/file/d/18f9PLY3IXUPJiMyStdNgMmAYGgjpBXZx/view?usp=drive_link | MC4EI; see also https://rumble.com/v2m08qg-2020-pre-election-tcf-walkthru.html; see also https://rumble.com/v2lp7eq-detroit-election-officials-attempt-to-explain-vote-tabulation-process.html
https://about.bgov.com/insights/news/meet-the-technocrat-who-keeps-killing-trump-voter-fraud-claims/ Alex Ebert, Bloomberg Government, “Meet the Technocrat Who Keeps Killing Trump Voter Fraud Claims” (2021) (“Detroit officials decided they needed some expert help”; Thomas hired as consultant to help Detroit prepare for the 2020 election and any subsequent recount), available at: https://about.bgov.com/insights/news/meet-the-technocrat-who-keeps-killing-trump-voter-fraud-claims/.