Michigan Secretary of State Priorities Study

Michigan Secretary of State Priorities Study: What Voters Want Now

Objective and context. We spoke with Michigan voters (n=10) to understand priorities for the Secretary of State race across four issues: digital driver’s licenses, service modernization vs. election protection, safeguarding voter/license-plate data, and dark money. The throughline is pragmatic trust: voters reward quiet competence, paper-backed integrity, and privacy-by-design over spectacle.

Cross-question learnings grounded in the evidence.

• Digital IDs: optional backup only. Respondents are cautiously receptive to phone-based IDs but overwhelmingly want the physical card to remain primary. As Paul Mcgowan put it: “Card never needs charging... I’d keep the plastic card.” Trust hinges on Michigan realities (cold-weather battery drain, cracked screens), privacy (refusal to hand an unlocked phone to police or clerks), offline verification, cross-jurisdiction acceptance (TSA/other states/courts), and fast revoke/reissue if a phone is lost or stolen. Accessibility matters: clear multilingual flows (e.g., Korean), large buttons, and paper options (Robin Patni).
• Priorities: elections are table stakes; services are the pain point. Voters view election security (paper trails, audits, consistent rules) as non-negotiable, yet a slight plurality (6 of 10) prioritize modernizing everyday services that cost time and wages. Michael Ellis: “Everyday services... hits me every year.” Desired fixes are practical: reliable appointments, shorter lines, real humans on the phone, mobile/offline renewals with paper fallbacks, and visible wait-time/uptime metrics.
• Data protection pledge: support is conditional. Promises to shield voter and plate data from federal agencies or Big Tech are popular only with enforceable policy: warrant-only access beyond routine checks, bans on selling/sharing (no data brokers), short retention with purge schedules, audit logs and transparency reports, and penalties-without slowing routine DMV work. Paul Mcgowan: “Good idea, but show me the plan.”
• Dark money: high concern with voting effects. Anonymous spending is broadly seen as corrosive, especially down-ballot; voters penalize candidates linked to it and demand near-real-time sponsor disclosure and meaningful enforcement. Sharon Garber called concern “9-out-of-10.”

Persona correlations and demographic nuances.

• Rural/vehicle-dependent workers (e.g., Ricky Conway) prioritize uptime, predictable titles/plates, offline verification, and cold-weather robustness; digital IDs only as backup.
• Older adults/fixed income (e.g., Joyce Burt) need paper/mail fallbacks, human help, large print, and zero-fee access-risk exclusion if digital-first.
• Public-safety/government professionals (e.g., Joshua Stacy) insist on legal guardrails: warrant-only pulls, short retention, audits, and preserved public-safety workflows.
• Tech-literate professionals (e.g., Malcolm Cabral) will adopt with wallet-native, selective disclosure, offline-first design, and vendor/data controls.
• Non-English households/caregivers (e.g., Robin Patni) require translated, simple flows and predictable, shorter visits (evenings/weekends).

Actionable recommendations.

• Publicly commit: “Keep the plastic.” Digital ID as optional, free backup; never require handing over a phone; NFC/QR selective disclosure; offline verification; instant revoke/reissue.
• Adopt a Data Use & Access pledge: warrant-only access beyond routine plate checks; ban selling/sharing; ≤90-day retention with documented purges; quarterly transparency reports and penalties.
• Service Reliability Blitz: branch SLAs (≤20-minute average wait; ≥85% on-time appointments), evening/Saturday pilots, real phone support, and uptime dashboards with paper fallbacks.
• Election integrity ops: standard procedures, poll-worker training, risk-limiting audits, severe-weather contingencies, and post-election after-action reports.
• Accessibility program: plain-language EN/ES/KR one-pagers, seniors helpline, rural mobile pop-ups, maintain paper/cash windows.
• Voluntary dark-money transparency: list top-3 funders on all ads and post 48-hour disclosures.

Risks and guardrails.

• Perceived digital ID mandate → Mitigate with “optional, free, backup-only” messaging and “show, don’t hand” protocols.
• Legislative delays on privacy → Use contracts/MOUs now; publish model bill.
• Inconsistent acceptance → Phase use-cases; publish acceptance map (TSA/neighboring states); train front-line staff and law enforcement.
• Vendor lock-in/monetization → Open standards, no-resale clauses, audit rights, exit options.
• Equity gaps → Track completion rates by segment; keep paper/cash lanes; multilingual outreach.

Next steps and measurement.

1. 0–30 days: Announce “Keep the plastic” and Data Use & Access pledges; publish EN/ES/KR one-pagers; preview branch wait-time/appointment SLAs; begin ad funder disclosures.
2. 30–90 days: Pilot evening/Saturday hours; launch dashboard MVP; draft warrant-only/anti-broker terms for vendors; schedule rural pop-ups; plan officer training on “show, don’t hand.”
3. 90–180 days: Start wallet-native, offline, selective-disclosure digital ID backup pilot; publish first transparency report; implement call-center SLAs; conduct poll-worker refreshers.
4. 6–12 months: Scale successful pilots; pursue legislation; expand language access; broaden acceptance if pilot metrics are met.

• KPIs: average wait time ≤20 minutes; ≥85% on-time appointments; website/kiosk uptime ≥99.5% and ≥95% completion; call answer ≥80% within 60s and ≥70% first-call resolution; 0 unauthorized data access with 100% warrant-backed pulls and on-time purges; digital ID pilot CSAT ≥75, offline verification ≥99%, 0 handover violations.

Bottom line: Voters are privacy-first pragmatists who will reward boringly reliable services, enforceable data protections, and paper-backed election integrity-delivered with transparency and accessibility.