Michigan Removes 177,000 Voters From Voter Rolls After Legal Challenge

The Michigan secretary of state removed 177,000 inactive voters from the state's voter rolls after settling a legal challenge.

The state removed the names from the voter rolls in late January because the voters no longer live in the state or did not respond to the state's inquiries about their addresses, according to a Tuesday district court announcement. The state performed the post-election audit during a legal battle with the Honest Elections Project, an election watchdog.

Jason Snead, head of the Honest Elections Project, which supported the lawsuit, said the state's decision to remove the voters will help combat any allegations of voter fraud. "The last thing that we want is to create a system in which you could have widespread voter fraud or where it's impossible to debunk false allegations of widespread voter fraud because you are undermining or failing to act on the necessary measures that help to prevent fraud and bolster confidence in the democratic process," he said.