Elections

Election Results: When will Michigan’s ballots be counted by?

Published

3 years ago

October 22, 2020

The victor of the 2020 presidential election won’t be known on Election Night. Postal ballots (both “mail-in” and “absentee”) and in-person votes, early voting mean that many states will have a backlog of uncounted ballots on Election Day, placing additional strain on state election systems that are already under unprecedented stress.

Swing states have always been the king-makers in presidential elections—”president-makers,” I should say. But, this time around, greater skepticism of the election’s integrity puts more pressure on the swing states’ election processes.

In this series of explainers, I’ve already covered the swing states of Pennsylvania and Arizona. Let’s dive into another one: Michigan.

For an explanation about the difference between mail-in and absentee ballots, check out this piece here by Ben Wilson: The Difference Between Absentee and Mail-In Ballots.

The state, which President Donald Trump won in 2016 with a microscopic 0.3% margin, currently leans toward his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, according to FiveThirtyEight. Michigan is a must-win state for President Trump if he is to get a second term, so a lot’s riding on the Wolverine State.

Back in 2018, Michigan passed a law which allowed its voters to request an absentee ballot for any reason, expanding the amount of voters who qualify for ballots of this sort.

Under another state law, ballots received by clerks after 8 pm on Election Day will not be counted. While the Supreme Court recently ruled that ballots received up through November 6 in Pennsylvania are allowed to be counted, a Michigan appeals court on Friday upheld the state’s current law. As of right now, it is uncertain if this ruling will be appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court.

In September, however, Michigan lawmakers passed a law that permits election clerks to open and sort—but not count—ballots on November 2 for 10 hours before the start of Election Day at midnight. This will save election officials some time on November 3 when they then have to also count all the in-person ballots from that day.

Of the more-than-three million absentee ballots requested this election, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the state’s chief election official, said on Tuesday that 1.5 million have already been submitted, The Detroit Free Press reported.

Even though Michiganders are still able to request absentee ballots, Benson has urged those who have still not requested one to request one in-person from their clerk’s office instead as well as to deliver their ballot in person to the clerk or a designated dropbox. This is to take some of the burden off of the U.S. Postal Service, which has been facing its own set of problems nationwide.

As for when she predicts the results will be released, Benson, according to Politico, said earlier this month: “We still expect that will be the Friday of that week … that we can expect every ballot will be tabulated. Now it may be sooner, but we want to manage those expectations.”

Given the information presented, Michigan’s full election results most likely won’t be known on Election Night. Most of its results should be published within the week after Election Day, probably November 6 (Friday) at the earliest, as Sec. Benson approximated.

Nonetheless, in the year 2020, anything could go haywire—nothing is certain.

You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.

Nation

Elizabeth Warren Acknowledges Unintended Consequences of Obamacare

Published

5 days ago

November 27, 2023

Alexander Carter

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a longtime supporter of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, is now acknowledging the unintended consequences of the healthcare legislation, particularly its impact on industry consolidation and rising healthcare prices.

Warren, who has been a vocal proponent of Obamacare, has recently had what the Wall Street Journal reported as an “epiphany” regarding the consequences of the healthcare law. In a letter addressed to the Health and Human Services Department inspector general, Warren, along with Senator Mike Braun of Indiana, expressed concerns about vertically-integrated healthcare companies potentially increasing prescription drug costs and evading federal regulations.

According to reports from Fox News, the bipartisan letter highlighted issues with the nation’s largest health insurers allegedly bypassing Obamacare’s medical loss ratio (MLR). According to Warren, these insurers, through vertical integration, have manipulated the system, leading to “sky-high prescription drug costs and excessive corporate profits.”

The senators detailed how conglomerates, like UnitedHealth Group, with ownership across various healthcare sectors, could inflate medical payments to pharmacies and, by realizing those payments on the pharmacy side, appear to comply with MLR requirements while retaining more profits.

Moreover, despite the Democrats’ argument that the MLR would benefit patients, it has incentivized insurers to merge with or acquire pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), retail and specialty pharmacies, and healthcare providers. This, in turn, has made healthcare spending less transparent, as insurers can allegedly shift profits to their affiliates by increasing reimbursements.

Warren, who has consistently voted against Obamacare repeal efforts, notably advocated for a “Medicare for All” proposal during her 2020 presidential campaign. Despite her prior support for the healthcare law, Warren’s recent concerns about its unintended consequences have raised questions about the long-term effects of Obamacare and its impact on the healthcare industry.