In the city of Warren, election results could be delayed. The county clerk explains why.

WARREN, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – Concern is growing that the counting of ballots in the city of Warren could be delayed on Election Day.

“After the 2020 election, people thought something was wrong because it took so long to count votes,” Macomb County County Clerk Anthony G. Forlini said.

Forlini said Michigan is now allowing local governments to opt in to count absentee ballots eight days early. All Macomb County town clerks took advantage of the law, except for the Warren town clerk.

Forlini said he doesn’t understand the decision to wait until election night to count absentee votes because it could potentially delay the results.

“So this is a way for the clerks to tabulate the votes early and hopefully it will get them in sooner,” he said.

CBS Detroit reached out to Warren City Clerk Sonja Buffa, who released the following statement:

“I have been managing elections for 24 years and my staff has consistently demonstrated accuracy and precision in elections. For me, accuracy comes first, speed comes second. For these reasons.”

“I decided not to do any pre-processing.

“First, considering the additional people required, the time required, the storage and subsequent compilation required, it would actually take more time to pre-process the postal votes for eight days than it would to take a full day to count them.”

“Next, pre-processing is not mandatory for employees. Lawmakers could have easily mandated preprocessing, but they chose to make it optional.”

“And finally, up to eight days of preprocessing opens the door for results to be leaked or compromised. I will not risk compromising the integrity of the election.”

“I also want to receive the results quickly and we are committed to fulfilling this task and ensuring that the election is carried out correctly and safely. WE CAN DO THIS! I hope that the scrutiny this office faces does not deter the general public from voting. “As always, thank you for voting.”

Meanwhile, Forlini said that while he disagrees with the decision not to count early mail-in votes, he is committed to assisting the city of Warren in counting ballots on election night.

“I would encourage Warren to catch up. Don’t sit on them in the city offices, bring them in so we can tabulate them so we can communicate the results to the people who want to know,” he said.