Dear Friends and Supporters,

With U.S. Congresswoman Candice Miller, former Michigan Secretary of State, who is working with us to help clean up our state's voter rolls.

As you know, we have made cleaning up Michigan's voter rolls a top priority as part of our SECURE and FAIR ELECTIONS (SAFE) initiative. In 2008, the non-partisan Pew Report found Michigan had an impossible 102.54 percent of eligible voters registered to vote. It's clear we must remove those who have died, moved out of state or are not U.S. citizens.

Toward that goal, the Michigan Secretary of State, for the first time ever, is participating in something informally called the Kansas Project (formally known as the Interstate Voter Registration Data Comparison).

What is this? Sixteen states have joined together to compare and cross-check voter registration records to identify voters currently registered in more than one state AND to make sure they aren't voting in the same election in more than one state. All told, more than 50 million voter registration records were compared. The best part? This is free - governments actually cooperating for the greater good at no cost to taxpayers.

Michigan just received initial results. Of Michigan's almost 7.2 million voter registration records, 164,837 duplicate voter registrations were found in participating states like Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. These are just initial numbers and will require further analysis and confirmation, but are one more indication that Michigan MUST ensure accuracy in its Qualified Voter File.

INTEGRITY EFFORTS EARNING SUPPORT

Our common-sense approach to election integrity is earning support. Check out these recent newspaper editorials and news stories:

Detroit News Editorial - Voting reforms will help assure integrity: Johnson's proposals would assure a fair vote, without overburdening voters

Detroit Free Press - Secretary of State Ruth Johnson: in Pursuit of Greater Transparency

Detroit Free Press on Sunshine Week and Campaign Donor Disclosure

The Oakland Press - Secretary Johnson Wants to Close Voting Loopholes (with video).

I appreciate all of your support and well wishes. I couldn't do this without you. Please help us spread the word about these critical efforts. As always, please contact my office with your suggestions.

Sincerely,

Michigan Secretary of State