♪ >> Welcome PWAFPBLG our guest this weeks republican consultant jamie roe on the new election petition drive.

Our lead story covid and kids the numbers are a mixed bag.

We get inside out off the record.

>> Production of off the record is made possible by the following: And now this edition of off the record.

>> Thank you very much.

Thank you for taking time to join us here on off the record.

We have with us emily and bill ballenger and SKWRO PB Oosting.

Jamie roe will join us later.

Kids are getting covid and this is seen this this this data.

Children under the age of 10 have had more cases than anyone else in the state.

The death rate for those same kids under the age 19 comparED TO those over the age of 80 is revealing.

For example, those 19 or younger, 15 deaths in MICHIGAN so far.

Those 80 and over, 8,614 deaths.

More than half the fatalities in our state.

nationwide numbers out of the Cdc you see the same trend 0-4-year-olds 144 deaths during the pandemic ages 5-18, 326 deaths but those over 75, 355 deaths.

On another front with children returning to in-person learning the number of covid out breaks in MICHIGAN have increased.

The state reports 31 new out breaks in the total education system, including 26 cases in the k-12 system and a number on the college campuses.

172 cases on the U of M catch us, 16 cases at eastern MICHIGAN and 11 cases at ADRIAN college the head of the state school board ASOEGSZ hope it doesn't force down the k-12 buildingS.

>> Numbers seem better than what we have seen in other states.

I will the not be surprise period we have to close down some buildings to quarantine.

We would expect this to happen and hope we don't see numbers get worse.

>> Reporter: on that, student, parent, teachers and administrators can all agree.

Two hours after that enterview was done they announced in reed city indeed that school building had been closed down.

Emily what is going on on covid and kids?

>> Unfortunately a lot of what we are seeing is a vaccination story.

There is no approved vaccine or authorized vaccine for kids between 0-12.

At 12 they can start getting vaccinated.

The vaccination rates for 16-19 are lower than the general population.

They are getting vaccinated at lower rates and they are getting put into CONgre greats.

I haven't seen any indication the virus is particularly targeting children.

But certainly unvaccinated people, children happen to comprise a large chunk of at this point are at higher risk than those vaccinated.

>> Refresh my memory.

When we started they said kids are held harmless.

What happened?

>> I think the data you showed does indicate children are much less likely to get seriously sick, need to be hospitalized from the virus.

That hasn't changed.

What has changed is that wider population has more access to vaccines right now and children do not.

The fear about in-person learning was also, you know, not just for the sake of children who, again, are less likely to seriously ill but to catch the virus and bring it home to a parent or grandparent.

Vaccination rate, not great statewide but are higher AMONG the ADULT population.

That fear has been fitigated a bit.

>> -- mitigated a bit.

>> It will get worse before it gets better or will it plateau out?

What is your guess in.

>> It's just a guess what that's all anybody can have.

The message from the health and medical care establishment over the past two years has been constantly evolving, changing, conflicting, very CONFUSING to the public.

I think that's one of the reasons there is so much skepticism about the vaccine right now.

I tend to think, maybe I'm being too optimistic, things will get better before they get worse in the schools.

I could be wrong.

>> Jonathan let's turn the page to the president, who made a statement this westbound about what should be done about vaccines.

What is the impact in our state?

>> IT WILL HAVE a large impact.

President Biden Among other things essentially mandATed that companies with more than 100 employees either require all employees to be vaccinated or to be tested on a weekly basis to try and catch the virus and make sure it is not being brought into the work place.

Now, according to -- there is something like 6,000 businesses in MICHIGAN with more than 100 employees and combined they employ about 2 million people.

Who knows?

A lot of those people probably are vaccinated already.

It is safe to say a large number of folks who are not currently vaccinated are going to have to do so IN ORDER to keep their jobs or at least submit to weekly testing.

We still have to learn a lot of details about how this is actually going to work operationally, just like mask mandATEs we saw in MICHIGAN who will enforce it.

It is being done through OSHA at the federal level.

Will they send inspectors into every business on a regular basis?

Rely on the state to do that?

We don't know exactly.

Businesses are concerned here IN MICHIGAN because it seems to put them in a position of having to do some of the enforcement themselves and that could put them in an awkward spot.

>> Emily, the house republicans have legislation to ban businesses from imposing a vaccine mandATE.

Are they trying to trump Mr. Biden and can they?

>> I don't know if the time line exactly lines up there.

I do think obviously republicans have had an interest in making sure things like vaccines and masks in some cases are not mandATed.

That party has a lot bigger OF AN interesting, I guess, in the personal liberties over perhaps some of the collective public health measures we know are helping stop the pandemic at this point.

What a shift for strategy for Joe biden.

You just think back to I followed him up north into traverse city where it was the summer of freedom.

We got vaccinated and we can do what we want and have barbecues.

To go into this MANDITORY vaccination phase so quickly is jarING.

>> Let's switch to particulars and the gubernatorial race.

Kevin who in.

>> A car dealer well-known in metro Detroit.

The name is a big one.

Name I.D.

instantly.

Supposedly has a lot of personal wealth.

Some people are thinking this could be the new Rick snyder who won the republican nomination as a private sector businessman in 2010 without any past political experience.

It remains to be seen whether Kevin Rinc has those resources and he has some personal questions, personal baggage in his background he is maybe going to have to answer for when he gets in.

With 10 other candidates announces they are ARE YOUing it will be a free-for-all to see who winds upifying next spring for the governorship.

>> Jonathan what is your take?

If he has $10 million that is more than Mr. Snyder put into the race.

Is he a viable candidate?

>> That remains to be seen.

A lot of people want to point to Rick snyder the most recent put in the Amount of MONnebetween the 18 and was unsuccessful.

Wasted seepingly a money and ON ON seemingly a lot of money and serves in the MICHIGAN legislature.

Kevin is maybe well-known in parts of metro Detroit, but statewide I don't think anyone in west MICHIGAN has much OF AN idea who he is.

He will have to certainly tour the state and make himself name.

Buy lots of commercials if he does put $10 million into the race.

We have seen reporting already his COMPANY has SETTLed sexual harassment claims and things of that nature.

He will face a lot of vetting and there are some republicans I have talkED TO who think there are a few ghosts in the closet that might come out and complicate his POTENTIAL run for governor.

>> That's the interesting thing about this story.

The reference made nothing to the problems.

Are you finding it unusual it isn't in day one?

>> No.

They are putting their best foot forward and it's up to JOURNALISTs to start digging starting day one.

But maybe the story doesn't come to fruition until later.

I have trouble seeing him and his candidacy as different than the large field of people without much political experience.

He had some name I.D.

in SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN.

I will tell you I am from SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN the first time I heard of him was as a political reporter.

That is not a name that resonates with people in my age group.

It is hard to see him as bringing a ton of star power to a race that already has star POWER IN it.

James Craig is a public FIGURE and Sal dano who has made a name for himself.

I think there is a number of candidates who are all in that field of politically untested, but building some name I.D.

and maybe he gets a head start on that.

>> Part of the problem is you have never bought a Cadillac from them.

If you had a Cadillac IN your garage you might have had CONtact with him.

Bill, how serious is this personal stuff that has been widely reported, the guys at meres newsletter did a dive in his past.

Will it come back and haunt him?

>> It could very easily.

He will have to answer for it.

How will he respond if he gets in the race.

Isn't officially a candidate yet and don't know if he will file NEXT spring or will back away.

If he starts to get blow back this fall on the campaign trail when he move around the state fhe does trying to make his presence known and he doesn't react well to it or he decides I don't want to have to go through this, it could stop his candidacy right there.

Any way you cut it, I mean, out of all the candidates I know of who are serious on the republican side he is the only one with these kinds of accusations lurking in his background and that's not a good thing for a candidate no matter how much money he has.

>> Let's talk about our petition with jamie roe.

I tried to weed through this ballot proposal.

There is a lot of language in there.

Thank you for miking my weekend read on the treadmill.

Is it your intent to put this ISSUE on the ballot of 2022?

>> That's a possibility.

The intent right now is to get the language approved by the state board canvassers and begin circulating petitions.

It is ia legislative initiative that means if we get the signatures it would go before the MICHIGAN legislature who would have the opportunities to vet yes or no.

If they vote yes it is law without the governor's signature and ha is the first step.

Of our goal would be to build enough support across the state and in the legislature to have it become law without having to go to the ballot.

If it does we are confident we can pass it there too.

>> What is your target to get people pens in one hand and peititions in the other hand.

>> We are LOOKING at some point in early October we will hopefully be completed at the canvassers.

And then be on the streets with petitions mid-October is my guess.

Hopefully know zooer, we'll see.

>> Mr. Ballenger?

>> Are you concerned based on what happened with the last republican-backed petition drive?

That there is going to be dragging of feet in the Secretary of State's election division into next year to the points where it will never get to the legislature in time for them to act on it AND/OR it can't get on the ballot in 2022 and would have to be postponed for another two years.

Are you concerned about that in.

>> Of course.

We have seen with this Secretary of State she is the most political Secretary of State we have seen.

She put her personal politic Ahead of what is right for the people.

Now, I used to work at the MICHIGAN department of state under Secretary of State miller.

One place where politics never intruded was the elections DIVISION.

If the law was followed it moved forward regardless if she supported it or not.

This Secretary of State has been slapped down multiple times by the MICHIGAN Supreme Court on the unlock MICHIGAN petition.

The Secretary of State and state board of canvassers and my hope is they learned their lesson and just follow the darn law.

That's what we need to have happen.

We can be hopeful IT WILL HAPPEN but we are prepared if it doesn't.

>> Emily?

>> Jamie, we have seen businesses across the nation oppose similar measures legislatively in other state, certainly anything that would, you know, in their view restrict access to the batol.

Who will fund -- ballot.

Who will fund this?

And are you worried there will be big BUSINESS funded opposition.

>> Nothing we are doing restricts anybody's ability to vote.

It enhances people's ability to vote.

The things we are proposing have broad bipartisan support.

The centerpiece is the voter I.D.

requirement which requires that you show an I.D.

IN ORDER to vote.

We already have a voter I.D.

law in MICHIGAN but it has holes in it and we fill the holes.

The people of MICHIGAN, a RECENT poll for the Detroit REGIONal chamber group of business people in SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN showed that fully 80% of voters in MICHIGAN support voter I.D.

laws including 60% of strong democrats and 70% of AFRICAN/AMERICANs.

If there is an ISSUE with this law that big business would have, I have no idea what it would be.

I don't think there is any reason for big business to oppose this law and I don't expect it will.

>> Why did they sign a letter when the legislature republicans were trying to do legislatively what you want to do with the petition drive.

Obviously they were UPSET.

>> I don't think -- this is not exactly what was in the Senate language or in the legislative PACKAGE.

There are other things in here.

We kicked the things WAOES think will have the greatest impact on providing security for ELECTIONs and ones that have the strongest support Among the public.

Those we will make the centerpiece of this.

I think we should be uNIGHTing behind -- uniting behind not dividing.

I haven't seen a negative comment from private industry about the proposal we put forward since we put it out last week and don't expect we will.

>> Mr. Oosting.

>> Let me push back.

You said this enhances people's ability to vote.

Can you explain that more?

The voter I.D.

provision right now if you don't have an I.D.

you can sign an affidavit and still vote.

Under this proposal you have to file a provisional ballot that would not case unless in six days you return to a clerk's office to show a form of I.D.

and in that six day period scramble to get one.

How does that enhance a person's ability to vote?

Sounds like it would make it harder for the small number of people who don't have I.D.

in the state.

>> What it does is enhances the security of the vote.

Like right now, what you said if you don't have an I.D.

you have six days to come back and show it whether you left it at home or if you have on get one at the Secretary of State's office and if you can't afford it we'll pay for it.

I don't think that is a problem at all.

80% of the people in the state support voter I.D.

in that you should have to show an I.D.

to vote I think this is something that will be embraced by the public and supported.

IT is not DRACONIAN in what is requires.

The other thing it does is applies voter I.D.

to absentee voting n. 2018 they had enacted no reason absentee, which I support.

I don't think no-reason absentee is a problem.

What we don't have is a check on the I.D.

What we will require is on your application now DRIVER'S LICENSE number, last four digits of Social Security number.

That is a non-objective check on who -- what your IDENTITY is.

I don't think it's a big ask and I continuing helps make things more secure.

One thing we have seen in the last two presidential ELECTIONs people from both sides of the aisle questioning the results.

We want to put in place security so that people have more CONfidence and faith in what happens in the election.

We are confident this will be embraced by the people.

It will not be embraced by democrat leader for sure.

They are not in touch with their voters on this ISSUE and we intend to stay in touch with their voters and not the LEADERS.

>> Was the 2020 ELECTION, was security breached in the 2020 election in MICHIGAN?

>> I think there are a great many people in the state who believe it was.

>> It was breached?

>> Let me answer.

I think that I do not believe there was a broad CONSPIRACY involved in the election, no.

Elections are run by human beings that means there are mistakes made in the process.

There are mistakes, I do not believe, at least I have not evidence of broad systemic fraud and until I do I will trust there wasn't.

>> Was there a breach of security?

This is what this petition is all about.

Security of the vote.

If it WAUFPBT violated in WASN'T violated in 2020 you can say this is a solution in search of a prospect.

>> Was there?

I don't know.

I don't think anybody knows.

What we want to do is close holes we see.

One thing on the affidavit ballots you go in and don't have your I.D.

and sign an affidavit and cast your ballot and vote, no check, no nothing.

If it comes out later you were not who youd you were, were not eligible to vote there is no way to go back and retrieve that ballot and you have a fraudulent ballot in the system.

All we are doing is put onus on the voter to come back and show your I.D.

and your vote is counted.

It's not an onerous provision.

It makes certain if you say that's you, you can prove it is you, your vote counts.

>> Jamie, there are a whole bunch of provisions in this huge PACKAGE of bills, the republicans introduced in the legislature in your petition.

You keep talking about, we have been talking about voter I.D.

I don't think that's the most important thing in there.

I think it's preventing the Secretary of State from sending out unsolicited application for absentee ballots which she did last year for the first time in history and given permission by a court to do so.

This particular petition would ban that and get back to you have to ask for an absentee ballot application to vote absentee.

I THINK that is EXTREMEly important.

It flooded the zone in the voting turn out and that's what led to Joe biden's victory in Mitch Mitch more than anything.

>> I don't know that increased the number of people who voted absentee but I will tell you what I think it did do, bill, is reduce voter's CONfidence in the system.

The reason being when she spent $7.5 million to send out absentee ballot applications she sent them to a wildly inaceight list and you had people getting absentee ballot applications for those who hadn't lived there in between the years.

That erodes voter CONfidence that the state election officials actually know what they are DOING.

We NEED TO stop that.

Clearly she doesn't have the right list.

I don't know what list she mailed it to.

There were people I talkED TO that got applications for people who hadn't lived at that address in 20 years.

That cannot happen in the system.

And it's unnecessary.

Local clerks do a tremendous job on this front already with the permanent absentee list.

IT is unnecessary to be done.

Political parties and others send thousands and thousands of voter absentee voter applications.

It is not something the Secretary of State needs to do and is not her job and not within her authority to do it.

She went beyond her authority to send those.

It needs to stop and we're going to stop it.

>> The language of your petition says not only can the Secretary of State not mail absentee ballots that are not requested but cannot make them available.

Would that prohibit the Secretary of State from posting an application ON-LINE that someone could choose to seek out and download and fill out and apply for an absentee ballot?

>> It would not.

And you can do so right now on the MICHIGAN department of state WEBSITE.

One thing you have to do when you do that is give your DRIVER'S LICENSE number and the last four digits of your Social Security number.

If she can do it I think we can require it across the board.

>> Mr. Roe, let's do an over time segment since we are just scratching the surface.

You game for that?

>> Sure.

>> Why not.

The rest of you stay tuned and come back to wkAR.ORG for ot with jamie roe.

See you there.

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