Black lawmakers in Michigan filed a complaint this week calling for an investigation into a Republican U.S. House candidate who allegedly placed an advertisement in a Black-owned newspaper that incorrectly listed the date of Election Day.
Tom Barrett placed the full-page ad in the Michigan Bulletin, a Black-owned, alternative weekly newspaper in Lansing, where it ran for several days, prompting state lawmakers to file a complaint with the state attorney general and the Ingham County prosecutor’s office.
In the filing, Democratic state Sens. Erika Geiss and Sarah Anthony accuse Barrett of violating state election law after the ad promoting his campaign told voters to cast their ballots on Nov. 6 — one day after the election.
The complaint was filed on behalf of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus.
Geiss and Anthony expressed a commitment to uncovering the truth behind the discrepancy. In a joint statement, they pointed out that Barrett’s campaign had correctly listed Election Day in other publications, yet allowed the incorrect date to appear in the Michigan Bulletin until Sunday.
They emphasized that any deliberate attempt to misinform or confuse voters would be a serious violation of election laws and must be addressed promptly.
“At best, Tom Barrett and his Campaign have committed a shocking oversight which will undoubtedly lead to confusion by Black voters in Lansing—in part because they still do not appear to have made any attempt to correct the record,” the statement said. “And, at worst, this ad could be part of an intentional strategy to ‘deter’ Black voters by deceiving them into showing up to vote on the day after the 2024 election.”
Ingham County prosecutor John DeWane confirmed that his office had received the complaint and elevated it to the Michigan Bureau of Elections for further review.
Barrett is in a tight race with Democrat Curtis Hertel to fill central Michigan’s 7th Congressional District seat, currently held by Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who is running for U.S. Senate. Polls show the race as a toss-up.
In the 2022 election, Slotkin defeated Barrett by 5 points.
The stakes are high for Republicans in Michigan, who have been actively working to engage minority groups, including Black voters, as part of their strategy to reduce the Democratic Party’s traditional advantages in those communities.
At the same time, the GOP is desperate to gain at least two seats in Michigan to maintain their slim majority in the House.
Barrett has been meeting with Black community leaders in the Lansing area as part of his campaign efforts. Additionally, former President Donald Trump participated in a roundtable discussion at a Black church in Detroit in June, reflecting a broader Republican strategy to connect with minority voters.
The Michigan GOP recently aired a radio advertisement featuring former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, whose federal prison sentence was commuted by Trump during his final days in office. Kilpatrick endorsed Trump earlier this year, expressing his support for the former president in a radio advertisement.
In light of these efforts, Barrett’s campaign spokesman, Jason Roe, dismissed the accusations as a huge misunderstanding, saying the wrong date was “nothing but a proofing error.”
“Our campaign has been committed to outreach to the Black community and Black leaders because it is important to Senator Barrett that every community be heard in this election,” Roe said, according to CNN. “The publisher of the Bulletin notified us of the error on Saturday and we’ve provided him with revised art for next week’s issue.”
However, the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus remains skeptical, while the complaint accused Barrett of engaging in an “insidious campaign tactic [that] unfortunately appears to be part of a national trend” of misinformation being used against Black voters.
“It strains credulity that this was a simple mistake,” the complaint states. “Tom Barrett and his Campaign placed two nearly identical ads in two different newspapers within a week of each other. The ad placed in the newspaper read predominantly by Black voters has the wrong election date; while the ad placed in the newspaper not read predominantly by Black voters has the correct election date.”
Marcus Jefferson, president of the Michigan Bulletin, stated that he contacted Barrett’s campaign after the issue was brought to his attention. The campaign explained that the incorrect date resulted from using an outdated template from Michigan’s Aug. 6 primary, the network reported.
However, according to Jefferson, the advertisement was the first one Barrett had placed in the Michigan Bulletin, which ran in the Oct. 1 edition of the publication.
“I’ve been getting it from all sides,” Jefferson said about the reaction he’s received over the blunder. Jefferson said he’s been telling his readers, “I’m not in the business of misinforming my readership.”
Meanwhile, the Barrett campaign highlighted that it had previously sent other mailers to Black voters featuring the correct date.
Jefferson announced that a corrected version of Barrett’s ad will be printed in the next edition of the Michigan Bulletin, which publishes Oct. 15.
The issue is expected to include an advertisement from Hertel’s campaign.
The story was trending on social media, with a parade of voices on one X thread criticizing Republicans for playing games with voters.
“They do this somewhere every time there’s an election. I’ve never seen anyone but Republicans doing it,” noted @sjcarl.
“Republicans always rigging,” wrote @33Saill33Comb.
“Republicans pull this crap every election,” @rcarr57 complained.
“This is actually repulsive,” said @Gunner2018U. “Republicans will stop at NOTHING to steal this election. Black folks aren’t stupid. I hope this guy go to jail for this.”
Some voices wondered how the mistake was missed in the first place.
“They need to print a front page full page spread to correct it. But also why didn’t the paper pick up ok it & clarify with the person requesting the Ad, or did they, & there are receipts? Print them also if they have them,” said @SueT_00.
Another user said Barrett “should be prosecuted.”
Spreading false information about voting times or locations is a serious offense. Such actions can undermine the integrity of elections and disenfranchise voters, which is why the Justice Department actively works to combat this issue.
The Justice Department’s Voting Section monitors and investigates complaints related to misleading information that could affect voter participation. Under the Voting Rights Act and other federal laws, individuals or organizations found guilty of intentionally spreading false information about the voting process can face severe penalties, including federal criminal charges.
