Nonpartisan local reporting on elections and voting
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Oralandar Brand-Williams

Senior Reporter, Votebeat Michigan

Oralandar Brand-Williams is an award-winning veteran journalist in both broadcast and print media. A University of Michigan graduate, Oralandar has covered criminal justice issues, race relations, religion, and local government for The Detroit News. She recently joined the staff of Votebeat covering politics, elections and voting-rights issues. Oralandar is a former vice-president of Print for the Detroit chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists and a mentor to emerging journalists for Report for America. She is a former producer/ editor for WDIV-TV, the NBC affiliate in Detroit. She also has worked as a news producer at WWJ Newsradio, a CBS affiliate.

A young woman stands at a voting booth adorned with a large American flag and the word “Vote”
FROM Votebeat Michigan Voting Legislation
Bill in Michigan House would let 16-year-olds kick-start their voter registration early
Teens who “preregister” to vote become automatically eligible on their 18th birthday. Democrats’ proposal would lower the age when youth could sign up.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
A man in a suit stands next to a window in an office
FROM Votebeat Michigan Voting Access
Aghogho Edevbie brings Detroit voting rights passion to Department of State
As deputy secretary of state, the longtime community activist and lawyer is focused on the legislative push for a Michigan Voting Rights Act and implementing Prop 2 voting reforms.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
Workers seated at a table in a community room check computers while a voter waits
FROM Votebeat Michigan Voter Registration & Rolls
Before canceling 100,000 voter registrations, Michigan officials call on community groups and clerks to double-check their lists
Here’s how officials clean the rolls of dead people and residents who have moved — without removing eligible voters by mistake.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
A man inserts an envelope into large brown metal bin on the edge of a public garden.
FROM Votebeat Michigan Election Security
After MSU shooting, election officials make emotional case to ban guns at polling places and drop boxes
Gun rights advocates call Democrats’ bill “an affront to the Second Amendment.”
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
A woman seated at a table in a hearing room smiles. A placard reads “Hon. Jocelyn Benson.”
FROM Votebeat Michigan
Early in-person voting and new drop boxes to cost Michigan $45 million, secretary of state estimates
Local clerks cheer the amount of the Prop 2 funding request but now want to know how it will meet different jurisdictions’ needs.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
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FROM Votebeat Michigan Election Laws
State canvassers certify recounts after hearing challenges to dozens of ballots
Conservative activists behind the recounts of Props 2 and 3 tried to get votes rejected because of ink bleed-through and other minor issues.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
A woman stands over a table and points to a ballot while surrounded by three other people.
FROM Votebeat Michigan
Clerks tackle Michigan recount of Prop 2 and Prop 3 amid challengers looking for errors
Costly recount in 47 counties won’t change outcomes on successful ballot proposals but gives activists an opening to criticize election.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
A polling place is lit by golden hour light, with a sign out front that reads “Vote Here”.
FROM Votebeat Michigan Election Laws
Boards of canvassers were a vulnerability in Michigan elections. Now the threat is gone.
In 2020, some Republicans on canvassing boards resisted certifying the results. Prop 2 eliminates that threat for good.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
A man in a sweatshirt and backpack stands in line and write on a clipboard
FROM Votebeat Michigan Voting Access
After Michigan students clog campus polling places, officials look for a better way
Turnout surged at University of Michigan–Ann Arbor and Michigan State, with hundreds waiting until Election Day to register and causing five-hour lines.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
Absentee ballots are tabulated by city workers while election challengers watch on inside Flint City Hall.
FROM Votebeat Michigan Voting Access
Flint pulls off smooth election, free from voter intimidation or poll watcher interference
Challengers turned out to scrutinize, but didn’t disrupt, absentee ballot counting.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
A gloved hand passes a stack of ballot envelopes to a man
FROM Votebeat Michigan Mail Voting
Head start to prepare absentee ballots for counting before election is not the time-saver clerks had hoped for
Why smaller municipalities won’t take advantage of the extra two days the legislature provided.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
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FROM Votebeat Michigan Voting Access
If Prop 2 passes, Michigan would get early in-person voting. Local clerks are “sort of nervous” about paying for it.
Election officials and experts welcome an option that increases turnout — but many details remain to be decided.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
A man and a woman stand in front of a white machine in a gymnasium.
FROM Votebeat Michigan Election Security
After tabulator breaches, here’s how Michigan is trying to ensure security of its voting systems
The “chain of custody” process and other rules to safeguard election equipment are only as strong as the clerks who follow them.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
A man in a blue shirt and jeans gestures with his arms up while a man ushers him away.
FROM Votebeat Michigan Voting Access
A smooth, low-turnout primary ends with an outburst in Detroit over nothing
When this election turned out to have no drama, an activist decided to generate his own.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
A woman in an office stands before a scanner holding a ballot
FROM Votebeat Michigan Election Security
Few Michiganders show up to witness tests of election equipment
Logic and accuracy testing demonstrates the integrity of ballot tabulators, officials say, and more people should come to watch.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
A man, wearing a blue surgical mask, votes at a polling station on a basketball court. The walls and bleachers behind him are bright green and orange.
FROM Votebeat Michigan Voting Access
How a quirk of Michigan’s “confusing” primary ballot trips up voters
Republicans and Democrats appear on the same ballot, but voting across party lines will spoil your vote.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams
 
A woman in a blue dress standing at the edge of a marina
FROM Votebeat Michigan Inside Votebeat
Voting coverage brings me full circle from my mother’s voting rights activism
I’ll report this story with the same balance and insight that I’ve brought to my long career in journalism.
By Oralandar Brand-Williams