Michigan GOP candidate’s ad aimed at Black voters has wrong election date

Tom Barrett, a Republican vying for a Michigan congressional seat, is facing calls for an investigation after an ad from his campaign incorrectly listed Election Day as Nov. 6 in a Black-owned Michigan newspaper.

In a complaint filed Sunday with the state attorney general, the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus accused Barrett’s campaign of misleading Black voters to suppress turnout — something the group of Black state lawmakers said could violate a Michigan law that prohibits intentionally spreading misinformation about the election process to deter an individual from voting.

“At best, Tom Barrett and his Campaign have committed a shocking oversight which will undoubtedly lead to confusion by Black voters in Lansing,” states the complaint, which calls on the attorney general as well as a local county prosecutor to launch a probe. “And, at worst, this ad could be part of an intentional strategy to ‘deter’ Black voters by deceiving them into showing up to vote on the day after the 2024 election.”

Barrett’s campaign has acknowledged the mistake, blaming it on a “proofing error” that was not intended to suppress turnout.

The complaint is the latest twist in what is shaping up to be one of the closest and most expensive House campaigns in the nation — and one that could help decide which party controls the House next year.

The race pits two former state senators — Democrat Curtis Hertel and Barrett — in a bid to fill the seat left vacant by Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who is running for Senate. It marks Barrett’s second attempt at winning the seat after losing by five percentage points to Slotkin in 2022.

In an effort “to reach every community,” Barrett’s campaign blitz this year has included a slew of meetings with local leaders, resources dedicated to urban radio and direct mail, as well as print ads, said Jason Roe, a campaign spokesman. The materials emphasize Barrett’s 22-year service as an Army helicopter pilot — and most have a banner calling on voters to head to the polls on Nov. 5, the correct date for Election Day.

But the full-page ad that appeared in the Oct. 2 issue of the Michigan Bulletin — a Lansing-based, Black-owned alternative weekly publication — is instead splashed with the phrase “On November 6 VOTE FOR TOM BARRETT.”

In a statement to The Washington Post, Roe said “this was nothing but a proofing error” that is inconsistent with the campaign’s other advertisements aimed at Black voters — including mailers that were sent on Oct. 2 and Oct. 9 that include the correct date for the election.

“Our campaign has been committed to outreach to the Black community and Black leaders because it is important to Senator Barrett that every community be heard in this election,” Roe said. “… The goal is to earn more support from Black voters.”

Yet, the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus is not convinced the incorrect election date in Barrett’s ad was a mere oversight — and instead called it an “insidious campaign tactic [that] unfortunately appears to be part of a national trend” of election disinformation targeting Black voters.

“It strains credulity that this was a simple mistake,” the group wrote. “Tom Barrett and his Campaign placed two nearly identical ads in two different newspapers within a week of each other. The ad placed in the newspaper read predominantly by Black voters has the wrong election date; while the ad placed in the newspaper not read predominantly by Black voters has the correct election date.”

The state lawmakers also took issue with the campaign’s failure to promptly amend its ad. As of Monday — 12 days after it was first printed — the campaign has yet to publish a correction.

However, Roe said next week’s Bulletin edition will carry a revised ad — this time with the correct date.