Secretary of State of Michigan
Anthony Forlini
CandidateR
- Race
- Secretary of State of Michigan
- Election
- 2026-11-03
- Opponents
- Garlin Gilchrist II (D); Eric Borregard (G); Christine Sloan (LIB); Scott Aughney (U.S. Taxpayers)
- Research
- Basic
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did0 statements · 0 votes
Anthony Forlini is the Republican nominee for Michigan Secretary of State and has been Macomb County clerk since 2021. A former Harrison Township supervisor and state representative, he is campaigning on cleaner voter rolls, shorter Secretary of State wait times and more election transparency.[1][2]
On the ballotSecretary of State
2026-11-03
| Garlin Gilchrist II D | challenger |
| Anthony Forlini R | challenger |
| Eric Borregard G | challenger |
| Christine Sloan LIB | challenger |
| Scott Aughney U.S. Taxpayers | challenger |
Republican Party nominee; filed August 24, 2026 following the party convention (Michigan Bureau of Elections listing).
Biography
Anthony Forlini is the Republican nominee for Michigan Secretary of State and has been Macomb County clerk since 2021. A former Harrison Township supervisor and state representative, he is campaigning on cleaner voter rolls, shorter Secretary of State wait times and more election transparency.[1][2]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
Forlini earned a bachelor's degree from Western Michigan University in 1984 and has worked as a Certified Financial Planner.[3] He was Harrison Township supervisor from 2004 to 2010.[3]
Forlini then represented the 24th District in the Michigan House of Representatives starting in 2011; Votebeat dates his service to 2016, while Ballotpedia lists it as ending in 2017.[1][3] In 2016 he ran for Michigan's 10th Congressional District and finished fourth of five candidates in the Republican primary.[1]
He was elected Macomb County clerk in 2020 and re-elected in 2024.[1][3] Republicans nominated him for secretary of state at their August 22 convention.[3]
On the record
Official actions: bills, executive acts, filings and court records.
- actionAs Macomb County clerk, introduced an online tool that posts images of every ballot cast for public viewing after an election.[4]
- action2026-03-02 · Compared Macomb County's voter rolls with the jury pool to look for noncitizens; the effort flagged 15 voters, and the Michigan Department of State later said five appeared to be noncitizens and at least three were citizens.[5]
In their own words
Priorities
- Keeping voter rolls clean: using public databases to remove ineligible voters, removing deceased voters, and referring multiple voters for prosecution.[6]
- Cutting Secretary of State office wait times and having real people answer the phone; auditing county clerks for consistency.[6]
- Election transparency, including retaining more election data such as electronic pollbook records.[4]
Statements, quoted without a stance
- Require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote
“has some responsibility”[5]
Votebeat's paraphrase and quote: asked about requiring proof of citizenship, Forlini said self-reported citizenship is not enough and the government 'has some responsibility' to verify it
Campaign moneyNo FEC filing summary matched — state candidates file with their state, not the FEC.
Profile: /people/anthony-forlini
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Sources cited in this profile
- 1.Michigan secretary of state candidates share election policies · Votebeat · 2026-03-02 News report
- 2.Anthony G. Forlini for Michigan Secretary of State · Anthony G. Forlini for Secretary of State Candidate's own words
- 3.Anthony Forlini · Ballotpedia Reference
- 4.Michigan secretary of state candidates weigh in on election transparency, Trump administration · Michigan Advance / Votebeat · 2026-10-08 News report
- 5.Michigan secretary of state candidates share election policies · Votebeat · 2026-03-02 News report
- 6.Anthony G. Forlini for Michigan Secretary of State · Anthony G. Forlini for Secretary of State Candidate's own words