Antrim County Clerk Under Fire After Bureau of Elections Demands Explanation

The Michigan Bureau of Elections has sent a formal letter to Antrim County Clerk Victoria Bishop demanding answers after receiving reports that she improperly canceled and changed voter registrations.

The letter, signed by Bureau of Elections Director Jonathan Brater, states the bureau received information suggesting Bishop made voter registration changes "that fall outside the scope of your statutory authority and fail to comply with the law."

Alleged Violations of Election Law

According to the Bureau of Elections, Bishop allegedly sent confirmation and cancellation notices to voters who did not vote in the last two major elections. Michigan law explicitly prohibits clerks from canceling a voter registration solely because a voter missed one or two elections.

The bureau also noted information suggesting Bishop did not independently verify the information she acted on when sending these notices, as required by the state election officials manual.

Unauthorized Changes to Voter File

The letter indicates Bishop allegedly changed voters' statuses in the Qualified Voter File, known as QVF, to "Cancel" or "Reject" without proper authorization. The bureau stated county clerks are not allowed to unilaterally update the QVF or send such notices to voters.

"The BOE is able to see the activity of clerks in the QVF," said Angela Benander, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of State. Benander explained the bureau began its investigation after receiving "reports about concerning activity" from voters and local clerks alike.

Campaign Promise vs. Current Actions

Victoria Bishop was first elected in 2024 on a platform of cleaning up Antrim County's voter roll. During her campaign, she defeated the county clerk who had overseen a 2020 tabulation error and pledged to "restore election integrity in Antrim County."

She told voters she believed "we still have dead people and people who no longer live in Antrim County" on the voter roll and promised to work with local clerks to remove them before the 2026 election.

Bishop is married to Randy Bishop, a conservative talk radio host known as "Trucker Randy" who has claimed to have evidence that the 2020 election was stolen.

History of Legal Troubles

This is not Bishop's first legal issue. Last year, the Michigan Department of State reprimanded Bishop for filing incorrect campaign finance disclosures. A judge also found her in contempt of court.

Potential Consequences

If Bishop cannot provide the requested information to the state, it could be the first step in stripping her of election-related duties. The state has removed local clerks before for election-related violations. Stan Grot, the Shelby Township clerk, had his authority reinstated after being accused of election-related felonies.

The Bureau of Elections letter notes that failure to "obey a lawful instruction given by the Secretary may result in a criminal misdemeanor."

Bishop did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Antrim County Election Context

Antrim County has been associated with election controversy. Following the 2020 election, unofficial results initially showed Joe Biden winning the heavily Republican county by several thousand votes after ballot tabulators were not correctly updated. The error was quickly corrected, but the incident was seized upon by Trump and others as evidence of voting machine rigging.

Antrim County will hold a few small elections in May, though township clerks will oversee the vast majority of election work in the county.