Susan J. Graphic Demas
Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum posts election information on Twitter.
This story is part of a project called Democracy Dayin which newsrooms across the country are shedding light on threats to democracy.
Barb Byrum wears many hats: county clerk, hardware store owner and attorney.
In her spare time, she also schooled deluded and conspiratorial political figures in Michigan with loud and informative tweets. fibers that have earned her the status of an internet microcentrism.
Byrum, a former Democratic congressman known for committing Michigan’s first same-sex marriage has garnered even more of a following over the past year for its popular election law topics.
From Michigan Attorney General Candidate Matthew DePerno Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), no public figure is safe from rebuke and a heavy dose of election knowledge if they spread false information publicly. Some politicians are even COPIED Her popular tweeting style known as the #Thorn take.
Many Michigan Republicans, both currently in office and running for various statewide offices, continue to push the false claim that widespread voter fraud was the sole cause of President Joe Biden’s loss of the 2020 election. Republican Donald Trump. This, as Byrum and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson have repeatedly said, is false.
“At first, I thought there’s no way people are going to believe this,” Byrum said of the conspiracy known as the Big Lie. “I am now convinced that we must face it head-on and aggressively. We must admit the lies immediately and loudly.”
Prior to her Ingham County clerk, Byrum served in the Michigan House from 2007 to 2012 and chaired the House Elections Committee. She demonstrates her deep knowledge of Michigan election law not only with informative topics that correct specific misinformation, but also with deep dives on some candidates and the lies they have told.
They include deep dives into all the GOP gubernatorial candidates ahead of the August primary, who they polled, the hurtful rhetoric they’ve used — she noted transphobic comments from GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon, conspiracy theories floated by other former candidates like Ryan Kelley and more. . Other topics fact check known 2020 election conspiracists like Mellissa Carone, or call DePerno in July for misleading statements he made about voting tables and ballots.
Laina G. Stebbins
Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum at a press conference announcing the Democratic Voting Rights Bill package, Nov. 3, 2021, at the Ingham County Courthouse.
said about Advance that Byrum is doing something that “must be done.”
“She’s educating, in a way where it’s accessible, the information she’s providing, both to the candidates and to the general public,” Wang said.
“ … What we’ve found, and what election administrators have found, is that once people go and see how the voting system works, then they realize that our system is secure and it’s secure and safe because they can see for themselves. ”
Wang added that she “hopes that her tweets can be a way to spark people’s interest and then get them to take the next step to get more involved in the election process so that they to see for themselves that the way we’re running them right now — the way the clerks and poll workers are running them — is safe and secure.”
of Advance spoke with Byrum about engaging and educating people through social media, what worries her most leading up to the November election, the most common mistakes candidates make, and whether Byrum intends to run for potential secretary of state in 2026.
Hello election deniers! 👋 Ingham County Barb Byrum here! In the wake of the August 2, 2022 Primary Election, I hear you are back spreading misinformation. Unfortunately (for you), I am aware of you. Let’s discuss: 🧵
— BarbByrum (@BarbByrum) August 3, 2022
Below are excerpts from the interview:
Michigan Progress: We’ve all seen your tweets where you tell the GOP candidates how they’re misunderstanding or violating basic parts of election law, and then dish out the facts for them. How did you start doing these and what inspired you?
City space: Well, educating candidates and voters one by one is a slow process. And I had discovered over the past few months that some of the election conspiracy believers and pushers don’t care to understand, but rather care about furthering the conspiracy. And frankly, with candidates, I keep seeing the same mistakes. Many candidates are making the same mistakes over and over again, so I thought I’d use social media to help them help themselves.
Michigan Progress: What errors are you seeing repeatedly?
City space: Failure to file on time, total misunderstanding of the election process and continuing to spread the narrative that the November 2020 elections were anything but fair, secure and accurate.
Michigan Progress: Which is scarier?
City space: Well, I think the Big Lie is scarier. And the candidates like [GOP Secretary of State nominee] Kristina Karamo, Matt DePerno, [GOP gubernatorial nominee] Tudor Dixon are all adding to and perpetuating the big lie – and as a result, attacking our democracy and putting our democracy in real danger.
Good morning Today I’m going to do a deep dive @tudordixon 🧵
— BarbByrum (@BarbByrum) April 19, 2022
Michigan Progress: And in addition, there are many details about campaign finance and running for office. Your threads are an interesting way to break it down.
City space: And elections are conducted differently depending on the state. So states run their elections by state law, so what may happen in one state may not necessarily happen in another. And I think one of the ways the Big Lie has been able to continue is because people don’t understand people don’t fully understand election law and election procedures and policies. And then if they do, they understand the specificity of their state [rules]. I think this has played a role in allowing these conspirators to continue to push their lies.
Michigan Progress: Tell me about your #JokeThenVote tweets and how it started.
City space: I started this before the 2020 election because I was already waking up angry. And I decided if I could make a bad joke every morning, that would help. And that helped me for a while, but now I’ve turned to Twitter threads. But I’m still keeping the jokes. And running. And the coffee.
… My goal is to educate in an engaging way. And if that’s how I can engage voters, citizens and candidates, then I will.
Michigan Progress: What issues do you expect with the 2022 elections?
City space: CNN just released some video footage of [GOP former state Sen.] Patrick Colbeck ‘trains’ these undercover operatives – and training is definitely in quotation marks – these undercover operatives to infiltrate polling places as precinct workers. So, zone workers are hired by the local city or county clerk, and Colbeck encouraged these individuals to bring their cell phones to these locations. Often cell phones are banned because for a missing county board, the ABCB, they are impounded. So this is a concern.
Also, continuing to push the narrative that our elections were rigged could turn off voters. They can choose not to participate in the November election. And no matter how safe and secure the election is, there will be people who claim fraud.
Michigan Progress: How do we face another potential year of widespread election misinformation?
City space: At first, I thought there is no way people would believe this. I am now convinced that we must face it head on and aggressively. We need to take the lies right out loud. We can no longer shake our heads and say and tell ourselves, there is no way people are going to believe this.
Because people are believing these bogus lies, these lies that have been disproven over and over again, the courts have ruled over and over again. But it’s time for us as election administrators, as elected officials, as community leaders, to stop repeating the lies and start holding people’s feet to the fire for the misinformation they are spreading. Because unchallenged misinformation is accepted as truth. And we need to talk.
Michigan Progress: Are you interested in running for Secretary of State in 2026?
City space: That’s a long way off and right now I’m focused on the November 2022 election and getting through this year.
Originally published on September 15 by the Michigan Advance. Reprinted with permission.
Stay connected with the Detroit Metro Times. Subscribe to our newsletters and follow us on Google News, Apple News, I tweetFacebook, Instagram, Reddit or TikTok.
