Shelby Twp. Clerk Announces Run for Michigan Secretary of State

“I’m not saying there’s fraud right now,” said Stan Grot. “But we need to remove any doubt that there may be fraud.”

Shelby Township Clerk Stan Grot MPRN 2 8.23.17-jn

Cheyna Roth/MPRN

A new candidate is entering the ring for Michigan Republican Secretary of State nominee.

Each political party will pick its nominee for Secretary of State at a convention in 2018. Stan Grot hopes the Republicans will choose him. He announced his candidacy on Tuesday.

Grot is a former assistant Secretary of State and current Shelby Twp. clerk. One of Grot’s main focuses is election integrity.

“I’m not saying there’s fraud right now,” Grot said. “But we need to remove any doubt that there may be fraud.”

The Secretary of State can’t make laws, but it does give guidance to the state.

Grot said he has a six-point plan to ensure fair and accurate elections.

The plan includes implementing mandatory photo ID and requiring proof of citizenship for new voter registration.

“With the situations at the last – with the last election, I think we need to improve the system little bit and tweak it and bring new regulations, new laws,” Grot said. “Not necessarily to suppress the voters but make it easy for them.”

So far, Grot’s competition is state Sen. Mike Kowall (R-White Lake). Current GOP Secretary of State Ruth Johnson is term limited and cannot run again. 

Author

  • Cheyna Roth is the co-host and creator of WDET's state politics podcast, MichMash. She has been an audio journalist for almost a decade, covering major events like presidential elections, college scandals, the Michigan Legislature and more, appearing on NPR and across Michigan public radio stations. Cheyna is also a senior producer and podcast host for Slate.com, having produced and hosted shows like Political Gabfest, The Waves, and What Next TBD. Also an author, Cheyna has written two true crime books and her written work has appeared in Broadly, Slate, and MLive, among others.