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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed 2027-2028 budget includes more than $43 million for new voting equipment, an appropriation election officials across Michigan say is critical in keeping the state’s election infrastructure secure and up to date.
The money is only a tiny portion of the $88.1 billion proposal Whitmer unveiled Wednesday. If approved, it will allow clerks to upgrade their machinery to the newest federal standards without forcing cities and townships to shoulder all the costs on their own.
If that money doesn’t win approval from the Legislature, however, it could put a major crunch on local clerks who have already seen their elections budgets double or even triple in the last decade with recent expansions to voting procedures.
All three of Michigan’s contracts with the major voting companies that service election equipment across the state are set to expire at the end of February 2027, meaning clerks will upgrade to machines that meet new state certifications. The latest equipment, designed to meet new federal voting standards, can often cost at least $15,000 per precinct for tabulators and voter assist terminals, said Michael Siegrist, first vice president of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks and the Canton Township clerk.
Up until now, much of the expense for new voting equipment has been covered by a combination of state money and federal funds from the 2002 Help America Vote Act. Clerks will sometimes buy upgraded equipment out of their elections budget, Siegrist said, but these “refreshes” are typically covered by federal and state dollars. That money greatly lessened clerks’ financial burden in 2007 and 2017, but the bulk of that money is now spent.
“If the state’s like, ‘You’ve got to get new equipment,’ it’s an unfunded mandate, and most of our local jurisdictions can’t really afford that,” Siegrist told Votebeat. “Some people can, some people can’t. We’re really pushing to avoid a two-tiered election system, where there are some [jurisdictions] on brand new, good equipment and some on bad equipment.”
That’s why clerks and election officials — including former Michigan Director of Elections Chris Thomas, who now works on contract with the city of Detroit — pushed hard to ensure there was money from the state in the budget proposal. Including the money in the 2027 fiscal year budget “allows sufficient time for procurement, testing, training and implementation ahead of future election cycles,” the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks said in a news release Wednesday.
The state funding would also result in more secure and reliable machines, Thomas told Votebeat. The new systems will meet the 2.0 version of the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines adopted by the U.S. Election Administration Commission in 2021. Those guidelines have higher standards for security and durability, Thomas said.
“It’s not just a replacement of what we’ve got now,” Thomas said. “It’s actually taking a large step up to a better voting system, and that will ensure higher security across the board for every jurisdiction and every voter.”
Election security has become a key talking point among the state’s Democratic leaders in recent days after President Donald Trump suggested nationalizing elections and named Detroit as part of that conversation. In response, Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson have both emphasized that Michigan runs its elections safely and independently. Michigan has one of the most decentralized systems in the U.S., as local clerks take on the bulk of the elections work, unlike a majority of other states where elections are administered at the county level.
It’s likely that the budget, including elections funding, will be closely scrutinized by Republicans in the Legislature, whose support will be required to pass it. (While Democrats control the state Senate, Republicans control the state House.) Budget tensions nearly shut down the state’s government last fall.
Rep. Ann Bollin, a Republican from Brighton Township and the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, told Votebeat on Wednesday that she wasn’t sure that $43 million was “the right number” but added that she expected Republicans “want to make sure that we’re running fair, free, and secure elections.”
Bollin is a former local clerk herself and said she supports state funding for new election equipment but isn’t sure the timeline is appropriate.
“We are going to have a change in secretary of state” after the 2026 election, she said. “That makes me pause. But putting in money and start saving for a reserve fund, I am supportive.”
Whitmer’s proposal is just the first step in the state’s budget process. The Legislature is required to pass a budget by July 1 each year. The new fiscal year starts on Oct. 1.
Hayley Harding is a reporter for Votebeat based in Michigan. Contact Hayley at hharding@votebeat.org.
