Michigan warns clerks against using jury pools to hunt for noncitizen voters

Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini has started what he calls “a movement” to compare jury duty questionnaires — specifically the forms where people claim they are not U.S. citizens and therefore ineligible to serve — with voter rolls. The Michigan Department of State is urging caution.

MDOS sent a memo to election officials statewide on Thursday advising them of the potential pitfalls of comparing jury lists to the Qualified Voter File. A copy of the memo, obtained by Votebeat, warns that without collaboration with legal counsel and state election officials, missteps in the process could wrongly strip eligible voters of their registration or expose them to scrutiny.

“It is critical that election officials proceed carefully before cancelling or changing voters’ status in QVF to ensure that U.S. citizens have the opportunity to confirm their eligibility,” the office warns. Following these steps ensures eligible voters “do not have their registrations cancelled, and they are not otherwise accused of improper conduct or subject to undue criminal investigation.”

Comparing the jury pools — and the people who self-select out by claiming a lack of citizenship — with the voter rolls can be a fraught way to find noncitizens. But Forlini says it doesn’t need to be hard.



https://www.votebeat.org/michigan/2026/03/12/noncitizens-anthony-forlini-jury-pool-voter-rolls/