STORY: As Michigan prepares for high-stakes mid-terms elections on Tuesday (November 03) a Detroit election official said that preparations are going according to plan and dismissed concerns about fraud that have been raised by the Trump administration.

Michigan’s Senate race, which pits progressive Abdul El-Sayed against Trump ally Mike Rogers, could be critical to determining whether Democrats can take control of the Senate.

Daniel Baxter, Chief of Operations for Detroit’s Department of Elections, said that there is a rigorous process in place to ensure the integrity of the elections.

Speaking to Reuters at Huntington Place, where absentee ballots are being tabulated, he said signatures are rigorously verified.

“We verify signatures for every last absentee ballots, whether it's 80,000 or whether it is 200,000,” Baxter said on Sunday. “Because we always want to make sure that the person who is speaking on Election Day is the voter who requested that ballot.”

President Donald Trump has continued to raise concerns about the possibility of fraud or irregularities in the mid-terms as polls suggest Republicans could lose control of at least the House of Representatives.

The Department of Justice is expected to send observers to several cities, including Detroit, as it has for several recent elections.

Trump’s Justice Department has shown a willingness to intervene directly in Tuesday's midterm elections, breaking with decades of practice meant to avoid the appearance that its law enforcement powers are being used to benefit a political party or candidate.

In California, for example, the Justice Department sought to set aside mail-in ballots from about 20,000 voters it alleges are likely non-US citizens ineligible to vote.

But Daniel Baxter said he welcomes any observers, and that his department is “not intimidated”.

“I'm not concerned about anything regarding this election or any election that we administer, whether it's the Department of Justice, whether it is Democratic challenges, Republican challenges, public observers - come on in,” he said. “This is a transparent operation, and anybody who wants to review it, as long as they abide by Michigan election law, help yourself.”

In late October, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would reward tipsters who uncover fraud in US government programs, launching the initiative by announcing a cash prize for a conservative online influencer.

He continues to falsely assert that widespread fraud caused his 2020 election loss. Independent studies and state audits have found voter fraud to be rare.

Early in-person voting has been taking place since October 24 in Michigan. Polls open on Election Day at 7am and voting concludes at 8pm.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: DETROIT, MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 01, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. PAN OF PARK AND BUILDINGS IN DETROIT

2. DETROIT SKYLINE

3. VARIOUS OF ELECTION WORKERS COUNTING ABSENTEE BALLOTS AT HUNTINGTON PLACE

4. VARIOUS OF CHIEF OF OPERATIONS, CITY OF DETROIT DEPARTMENT OF ELECTIONS, DANIEL BAXTER, SPEAKING TO ELECTION WORKER

5. (SOUNDBITE)(English) CHIEF OF OPERATIONS, CITY OF DETROIT DEPARTMENT OF ELECTIONS, DANIEL BAXTER, SAYING:

“As of today, all of our equipment has been delivered to all 402 of our polling places for Election Day. We've been early voting since the 24th, and that's been going very well. Thus far we've had 20,000 people who have cast ballots early. And even right now, as we stand in this room, we've already tabulated approximately 63,000 absentee ballots. So, we're excited about the position that we're in, and we're raring to go.”

6. TABULATION BOXES AND OTHER EQUIPMENT AT COUNTING STATION

7. (SOUNDBITE)(English) CHIEF OF OPERATIONS, CITY OF DETROIT DEPARTMENT OF ELECTIONS, DANIEL BAXTER, SAYING:

“So what you will see on election night is results coming from our early vote centers first, and then that will come in at around 8:30, nine o’clock, and then thereafter all 402 precincts will start coming in. So by what I would say by about 10:30, eleven o’clock you'll have all of your early votes, all of you precinct votes, and then shortly thereafter you'll get all of pre-tabulated absentee votes.”

8. VARIOUS OF ELECTION WORKERS AT COUNTING STATIONS

9. (SOUNDBITE)(English) CHIEF OF OPERATIONS, CITY OF DETROIT DEPARTMENT OF ELECTIONS, DANIEL BAXTER, SAYING:

“In terms of our operation, every aspect, every element of the process is governed by Michigan election law and we follow it. For instance, when I said to you that those absentee ballots that come in, we have to verify those signatures, we verify signatures for every last absentee ballots, whether it's 80,000 or whether it is 200,000. We're going to make sure that we verify those signatures because we always want to make sure that the person who is speaking on Election Day is the voter who requested that ballot.”

10. ELECTION WORKERS AT COUNTING STATION

11. (SOUNDBITE)(English) CHIEF OF OPERATIONS, CITY OF DETROIT DEPARTMENT OF ELECTIONS, DANIEL BAXTER, SAYING:

“And I think I can speak for every election administrator in the United States of America - the only thing that we want to do is make sure that every voter who wants to vote in any given election has that opportunity, free of any type of barriers, so that their voice can be heard and democracy is upheld.”

12. ELECTION WORKERS AT COUNTING STATION

13. (SOUNDBITE)(English) CHIEF OF OPERATIONS, CITY OF DETROIT DEPARTMENT OF ELECTIONS, DANIEL BAXTER, SAYING:

“I'm not concerned about anything regarding this election or any election that we administer, whether it's the Department of Justice, whether it is Democratic challenges, Republican challenges, public observers - come on in. This is a transparent operation, and anybody who wants to review it, as long as they abide by Michigan election law, help yourself. We're not intimidated. We're not nervous. We're not frustrated. We just want to get our job done so that at eight o'clock or thereafter, the results can be reported and then we can walk into the holiday season and enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas just like everybody else.”

14. VARIOUS OF ELECTION WORKERS AT COUNTING STATIONS

15. PAN OF HALL WHERE ABSENTEE VOTE COUNTING IS TAKING PLACE

DETROIT, MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 02, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all)

16. VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS OF DETROIT

DETROIT, MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 01, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all)

17. VARIOUS OF DETROIT SKYLINE AT SUNDOWN