News Photo by Torianna Marasco From left, Michigan Advisor of Keep Our Republic Kasi Meyer, former state rep Lisa Posthumus Lyons, former state senator and current Co-Director of Michigan Political Program Tonya Schuitmaker, and former state rep Christine Greig are seen in the Granum Theatre at Alpena Community College on Thursday at the Northern Michigan Community Conversation Tour focusing on election integrity.

ALPENA — Everyone has a role to play in the election and the transparency of each step in an election, according to speakers at the Northern Michigan Community Conversation Tour focusing on election integrity that visited Alpena on Thursday.

In the Granum Theatre at Alpena Community College, two Michigan nonpartisan organizations, Keep Our Republic and Michiganders for Civic Resilience, held an event to educate voters about the election, from registering to vote and methods of voting to how vote tabulators work and everything in between.

“We’re focused on election education,” Michigan Advisor of Keep Our Republic Kasi Meyer said. “We do that by engaging the voters and community members and anyone who will listen. We really work to uplift our election workers and everyone who is a part of that process.”

Speakers at Thursday’s event included former state reps Lisa Posthumus Lyons and Christine Greig and former state senator and current Co-Director of Michigan Political Program Tonya Schuitmaker.

Attendees not only learned from what the speakers had to say but had the chance to ask questions, too.

“We view this as a conversation, but we also want you to know that this is the beginning of the conversation,” Meyer said. “We hope that you continue these conversations with others and take them back to your networks.”

Following introductions and a review of the organizations’ goals, Lyons went through the process of the election, focusing on the plans to execute and the roles to play that help each election run smoothly.

“Elections aren’t a day and done,” Lyons said. “We begin planning months ahead.”

Lyons went on to discuss the process, from registering to vote to putting a ballot through a tabulator. She explained that there are processes in place for every scenario they can think of to ensure that voters feel safe and secure when casting their ballots and that they feel like their votes are being heard and accounted for.

She discussed how the people running elections are just that: people. Lyons mentioned that humans make mistakes, but there are methods in place when faced with an issue and that everyone plays a role in confirming and ensuring a fair tally. She highlighted the board of canvassers who, after Election Day, certify the votes and review any hiccups seen. She mentioned that that goes as far back as the first day of absentee voting, again confirming that each vote is processed correctly and that voters are properly registered and certified to vote.

Lyons highlighted the transparency of each step, stating that the public is welcome to oversee many of the tasks seen throughout the process of the election. She argued that transparency helps everyone playing different roles trust each other and the system, stating that the public can express concerns to their clerks or even challenge polls and other voters’ validity, with good reason.

“We want to make sure that everyone fully understands the role they have to play,” Lyons said. “Local police departments always have an Election Day action plan to prepare for any unsafe instances. You may see poll challengers, too, who are allowed in a certain space but not allowed to talk to any voters or election workers, besides the chairperson.”

Lyons also touched on the clerks’ responsibilities of keeping track of voters and their ballots and how they communicate any changes or issues with the Michigan secretary of state.

Alpena Clerk and Treasurer Anna Soik was also present at the event to answer questions and provide a local perspective.

“I think this is a fabulous event to get the word out and help educate voters,” Soik said. “It’s important that people feel comfortable in the entire process of voting and all the options we have and methods to vote, and to just know how it works behind the scenes is a really nice thing to see.”

This week, the tour visited five communities throughout the state for voters to learn more about what happens after they cast their ballot, foster a deeper understanding of the election process, and equip themselves to combat misinformation surrounding election integrity.

For more information on Keep Our Republic and its mission, visit keepourrepublic.org. Learn more about Michiganders for Civic Resilience at micivic.org.

Torianna Marasco can be reached at 989-358-5686 or tmarasco@thealpenanews.com.