WASHINGTON, D.C. — May 28, 2025 — The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) just released its Serve & Observe report documenting Election Day 2024 operations inside Detroit-area polling places. The report comes after PILF engaged in extensive on-site monitoring and reveals myriad troubling trends that undermine the integrity, neutrality, and transparency of Michigan’s voting process.
To complete Serve and Observe, PILF deployed trained legal observers to polling sites across Michigan to collect data using the same methods as Department of Justice officials. PILF’s findings raise serious questions about the health of Michigan’s elections.
The report documents several concerning findings including:
- Overwhelming left-leaning observer presence that interfered with the election process and voters. Aggressive conduct by election observers. These individuals directed voters, questioned credentials, and demanded ID far beyond their legal authority.
- Media personnel outside of legal boundaries. New York Times and Washington Post journalists entered secure voting areas in violation of Michigan election law and invaded voter privacy, taking pictures of voters casting ballots at close range inside prohibited areas.
- Illegal campaigning inside polling locations. PILF operatives noted race-based appeals and distribution of campaign literature inside the 100-foot no-campaign zone.
- Sophisticated “line-warming” operations. These operations featured DJs, snacks, and cheerleading, creating a partisan atmosphere disguised as harmless voter comfort efforts.
- Democratic Party and affiliated groups outnumbered their Republican counterparts by ratios of 2:1 or 3:1 at observed locations.
“The events we documented in Detroit should concern every American who values fair and lawful elections,” said J. Christian Adams, President of the Public Interest Legal Foundation. “PILF observers witnessed sophisticated interference in the process by progressive election protection organizations in Michigan. These are breakdowns legislators must fix.”
The report calls on the Michigan Legislature to strengthen enforcement mechanisms, set boundaries for observer conduct, and better train election officials on removing violators. It also urges lawmakers to implement limits on “line-warming” and to reinforce rules protecting ballot secrecy.
To read the full Serve & Observe: Detroit 2024 report, visit: https://publicinterestlegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Report-Serve_and_Observe-Detroit-2024-Web.pdf
For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Douglas Blair
503-956-9899
dblair@publicinterestlegal.org
ABOUT PILF
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. PILF has brought lawsuits and won victories in Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and across the United States.