DETROIT, MI (July 9, 2026) –The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) will send legal observers to Michigan for the August 4, 2026, Primary Election to help ensure Michigan law is followed in polling places. PILF will also determine whether the Michigan Secretary of State and local election officials have addressed past election problems.
PILF’s 2024 Presidential Election deployment witnessed third-party groups augmenting polling-place procedures and presenting themselves as authorities inside polling places, Department of Justice observers without the means to document their observations, and New York Times photographers photographing the completed ballots of voters. These incidents and more were detailed in PILF’s 2025 report, Serve and Observe: Detroit.
In August, PILF’s observers will identify and properly document any lawless conduct or efforts to prevent eligible voters from casting ballots. They may also serve as witnesses related to litigation. Their presence alone can deter bad actors from abusing the process and discourage officials from disregarding the law.
PILF observers will be led by former Department of Justice Voting Section lawyers and will utilize observation methods that were used by DOJ and OPM coverage for decades.
“Voters in Michigan have a right to privacy, a right which unauthorized media violated in 2024. I have seen first-hand how important poll observers are in recording the events inside a polling place, including deviations from established election statutes,” said PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams. “While serving as an election observer at the Department of Justice, I witnessed election workers tally paper ballots for the opposite of what voters had marked. PILF is in Michigan to help ensure the rules are followed.”
Voters who witness fraud, intimidation, or suspicious activities at polling places, can alert PILF’s election attorneys here.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is the nation’s only public interest law firm dedicated wholly to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections.
###