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UpdateMichiganMonday, October 26, 2026

Senate candidate urged police poll watchers in Detroit, sparking claims

Mike Rogers was recorded urging retired or off-duty police to show badges at Detroit polls as watchers.

Reporting by
Bridge Michigan
“Fact check: Mike Rogers faces voter suppression claims over Detroit comments”, Monday, October 26, 2026
Read the full story
What happened

Republican US Senate candidate Mike Rogers was recorded urging Kalamazoo County Republicans to use retired or off-duty police officers as poll watchers in Detroit, suggesting they open their jackets to show badges. Michigan law allows poll watchers but bars them from interfering, touching voting materials, or interacting with voters, and voter intimidation is prohibited under state and federal law. Rogers says poll watchers will not discourage voting, while Democrats warn the comments amount to an attempt to intimidate voters ahead of the November 3 general election.1

Key dates in Michigan

Election Day in 6 days
  1. Sat, Oct 24 · passed
    Early voting begins
  2. Mon, Nov 2 · 5 days
    Last day for mail ballot applications
  3. Tue, Nov 3 · 6 days
    Election Day; Registration deadline; Mail ballots must arrive
  4. Tue, Nov 17 · 20 days
    County/Local certification
  5. Mon, Nov 23 · 26 days
    State certification

Every date in Michigan, and who certifies the election

The answers behind this
Claims you will hear this fallVoting in Michigan, 2026What are my rights at the polls in Texas?Who certifies the election in Michigan, and by when?

Explore this issue

OverviewUpdates In depthAlabama Secretary of State issued Election Day reminders for November 3 In depthDemocrats asked court to block Trump administration voter roll actions In depthTexas voter groups sued for records on registration backlog In depthCameron County says poll worker initials on ballots will not void votes In depthOhio asked voters to report AI chatbot errors on election rules In depthPima County, Arizona added early voting sites in late October 2026 In depthWisconsin Elections reminded voters of one-week deadline before Nov. 3 In depthFlorida voters must bring photo ID with signature to vote In depthWisconsin voters will decide three constitutional referendums Nov. 3 In depthWisconsin voter groups reported concerns about federal agents at polls In depthNew York early voting drew more than 250,000 in first two days In depthPima County libraries served as early voting sites through Friday

Sources

  1. Bridge Michigan, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiuAFBVV95cUxOa2pVV29sVzltOHFPOEplSHViX1BWajJ4LVF3aVRDcmprYlE1dDJSdS0zRlZjeFk1WG1XSENocFo1NWFjN1BOcnlEcXk1TE1XbnAzQ2h0WU8zMDVURll3WDZFY01GdGNoX01WMWp2R3hVcXJWSEJNN2kxSFdwc0NycDN2WDFIVVBDOHN6UEhaaGlfSVlpRGQ3RWlYTUxhMmx3R003UDFHWEJEeEo3RHIzQUZ2ZmxJLVgw?oc=5 · Monday, October 26, 2026

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