Michigan Sheriff’s Office Investigates Dominion Voting Machine Issues

Key Takeaways:
• Michigan’s Barry County Sheriff’s office confirmed an ongoing investigation into election-related crimes involving Dominion voting machines.
• Texas Attorney General’s Office has also opened a criminal investigation into Dominion Voting Systems due to malfunctioning issues.
• The Michigan Secretary of State confirmed that the programming issues with the Dominion voter access terminals are a nationwide problem.
• The issues with Dominion machines have sparked controversy, leading to an increased scrutiny on the integrity of the U.S. election system.

Ongoing Investigations in Michigan and Texas

The Barry County Sheriff’s office in Michigan has confirmed that it is contributing information to state investigators in Texas regarding issues with Dominion voting machines. The voting machine company, Dominion, is currently under investigation in connection to claims of malfunctioning during the 2020 and 2024 elections. The Sheriff’s office has been proactive in investigating election-related crimes since December 2020 and has made referrals for criminal investigations to the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

Nationwide Programming Issues with Voting Machines

Dominion voter access terminals have stirred controversy in the 2024 election as they have been facing issues nationwide specifically with split-ticket ballots. These issues have been acknowledged by Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. Casting a ballot has now become more difficult for voters, especially those with disabilities who rely on Dominion Voter Assistance Terminals (VATs) to mark their ballots. Voters must carefully follow instructions to verify their ballot selections, or they receive an error message.

Implications for Voters

This error occurs when voters select the ‘straight party’ option initially and then cast varied votes later. While the situation does not prevent voters from voting or making their preferred selections, it can lead to inconvenience for some voters using VATs. Voters using these machines will need to either select the ‘straight party’ option to vote straight or vote for each race on the partisan selection of the ballot if they wish to split their ticket. Despite the inconvenience, Michigan officials stated that it was impossible to fix these programming issues in the current election period.

State Response and Public Reactions

Dominion Voting Systems issued a statement following the revelation, confirming that there is no issue that prevents voters from voting, making their preferred selections, and casting their paper ballot. However, this contradicts the experiences of voters struggling with Dominion machines, leading to frustration and skepticism. Social media has been ablaze with questions and criticisms regarding the functioning of the Dominion voting machines. Tech mogul, Elon Musk, inquired about the situation on social media, while other users have emphasized the reliability of paper ballots and raised concerns about the ease of manipulating voting machines.

Increasing Concerns about Election Integrity

This problem is not limited to Michigan. There has been evidence of vote fraud in Pennsylvania and Colorado in addition to Michigan. For instance, Colorado Democrats posted voting machine passwords online for several weeks before Republicans identified the security breach. Amid these ongoing issues and controversies, calls for the return to paper ballots and hand counts are becoming louder in certain quarters.

The issues with Dominion machines could have significant implications for America’s voting system and its integrity. The controversy and resultant distrust of the system could lead to legal battles, voter disillusionment, and a need for substantial system overhauls in the future. It will be crucial to monitor the progress of the ongoing investigations in Michigan and Texas into Dominion voting machines and the impact it will have on future elections.