Michigan election misinformation hotline stuffed with spam

When Michigan created an election misinformation hotline, people flooded the email address with jokes, spam, and attacks on the hotline itself.

Almost all of the reports were from people attacking the hotline, signing it up for email lists, and sending offensive or apparently satirical material, according to a Michigan Capitol Confidential review of the 818 pages of complaints sent to the hotline from Aug. 1, 2024, through Aug. 7, 2024, the first week of the hotline’s operation. CapCon received the documents through a record request.

The Michigan Department of State announced the project in August. The hotline allows anyone to report what it calls “election misinformation” to the Department of State.

“The act of spreading misinformation about the election process, voter rights, or even an issue on the ballot is a serious threat to election security,” the department said. “These efforts – be they foreign, domestic, partisan, or simply malicious – are designed to sow mistrust in our elections process and are damaging to a healthy democracy.”

The state referred Michigan residents to the websites Snopes.com, FactCheck.org and PolitiFact as reliable guides.

“If you see misleading or inaccurate information regarding voting or elections in Michigan, please report it — and include an image if possible — to Misinformation@Michigan.gov,” the state document said.

Many complaints attacked the hotline, the media, or public officials.

“I would like to report the full schedules every day of msnbc and cnn,” one complaint said. “Jocelyn Bensen [sic] helps steal elections.”

“Your [sic] are misinformation,” another email said. Others used vulgar references to state officials.

Some hotline informants went for straightforward comedy with no discernible connection to elections or politics.

“I want to report my friend Ed,” one complaint read. “He didn't say anything but he drove his golf cart into the sand trap at maple moor. There must be some penalty for that.”

The majority of the emails CapCon reviewed were notifications that the Department of State had been added to an email list. Topics of the mailing lists included Christianity, news digests, personal finance and career advice.

Other complaints criticized state officials as communists, while some mentioned Vice President Kamala Harris. A few mentioned a person whose phone number had been used in unsolicited text messages sent to third parties.

One reader from Saginaw sharply condemned the hotline.

“This is a horrible idea and I suggest that this should not exist in any state governmental office,” the reader wrote. “The State of Michigan government is not responsible for policing speech or opinions. You should only be enforcing laws and not any laws that encumber any expression of opinion or free speech.”

One email complained about “hate speech” from a neighbor and asked for a state investigation. Other people reported Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for “spreading misinformation,” while others reported Michigan’s government for enacting the hotline and compared the Department of State to Big Brother, the euphemistic name for the totalitarian government in George Orwell’s “1984.” Another said, “Stalin would be so proud of you.”

About 25 complaints, around 3% of the total, did seem to be genuine attempts to point out what respondents considered misinformation. Eight people accused Kerry Lynn Elieff, a GOP candidate for Ross Township supervisor, of violating the Michigan Campaign Finance Act. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sent Elieff a cease and desist order dated July 24 alleging that Elieff “spread misinformation” about a change in polling places for Ross Township — though it is not clear that this order came in response to a hotline tip. Other respondents claimed that former Green Township supervisor James Chapman posted misinformation online concerning ballots in Green Charter Township.

The Michigan Department of State did not respond to a request for comment on the performance of the hotline and its potential use in future elections.

State Rep. Jay DeBoyer, R-Clay Township, serves on the House Elections Committee and was previously the St. Clair County clerk.

Benson “continues to commit resources to frivolous things,” he told CapCon in an email. Instead, he said, she should focus on election integrity after a noncitizen apparently successfully registered and voted in the presidential election, according to a Detroit News report.

(Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify that one of the reports said “misinformation” instead of “information.”)