ABOUT // METHODOLOGY
SYSTEM TRANSPARENCY
Monitor MI is an independent election-result analyzer and visualization. It is not affiliated with the Michigan Bureau of Elections, any local unit of government, any political party, or any candidate. It does not call races or project winners.
COMMON QUESTIONS
No. Election-night numbers are unofficial and can change as counties correct and update them. Monitor MI tracks and reflects information as county election authorities publish it. Results become official through the county and state canvassing and certification process. Official and historical records are available through the Michigan Department of State and individual county clerks.
Results originate from Michigan county election authorities and their election-reporting systems. Monitor MI does not estimate, model, or project results. If a county has not published a precinct result, that precinct is labeled as unavailable or not yet reporting. It is never displayed as zero and is never estimated.
Every county publishes differently. Before results appear, Monitor MI checks that the publication contains the expected race and candidates, reconciles precinct or reporting-unit figures with the source totals, and matches reviewed reporting-unit names to the State of Michigan precinct geography used by the map. A source that fails its configured checks is withheld rather than silently accepted.
A small number of counties publish results as scanned or handwritten documents instead of machine-readable data. When that occurs, Monitor MI uses a transcription tied to the exact live county file by its cryptographic fingerprint. The results page says for each county whether a person has reviewed that transcription. If the county replaces or changes the file, those figures are withheld until the new document is transcribed again. This process does not make an unofficial county document official or final.
Some counties publish only an aggregate total without a precinct-by-precinct breakdown. When individual precinct data is unavailable, Monitor MI labels and shades those areas separately so the map remains truthful. It never spreads a county-level total across precincts merely to fill in the map. Hovering an unavailable area explains the specific source limitation.
METHOD NOTES
Michigan legislative districts can cross county boundaries while results are published county by county. Monitor MI validates each supported county publication and combines the contributions into one district view. A missing county is never treated as zero and is never estimated into the total.
Election-night links can be removed after canvass. When an exact web-archive capture exists, Monitor MI may use that preserved publication for historical display or replay. The captured file is verified by byte length and cryptographic fingerprint and is labeled as archived—not as a current feed.
A reporting simulation does not reproduce historical arrival order or timing. Monitor MI describes a replay as authentic only when it is based on timestamped, validated snapshots captured while publishers were updating their results.
Monitor MI is preparing replay and training tools for consultants, educators, researchers, and newsrooms. No paid plan is currently being offered through this beta page. Questions can be sent to support@monitormi.com.