Claims of electoral irregularities tied to absentee balloting in Detroit

A Detroit News investigation charges that the Detroit City Cleark, Jackie L. Currie, has engaged in "questionable practices" in relation to accepting and processing absentee ballots.

The News found that:

• Absentee ballots with addresses attached to abandoned or demolished buildings
  
• a master list of voters including many dead or moved out of the city
  
• campaigns and organizations hand delivering and returning absentee ballots from senior citizens and disabled voters, and that these ballots were "filled out in private meetings with Currie's paid election workers."
  

It looks like things are a bit out of control in Detroit. Currie looks to be an old-line politico running the elections office, and these irregularities are precisely why Doug Chapin, Mike Alvarez, and others have called for non-partisan elections officials. These sort of things simply should not occur.

Elections officials should be professional civil servants, not political hacks.