Over 1.5 million Michigan criminal convictions have been expunged under Michigan’s clean slate laws since they went into effect in April of 2021, and the numbers are growing daily under automatic expungements.
Otherwise known as “setting aside” a conviction, an expungement removes a criminal record. While it’s good for some Michiganders to get a fresh start, the laws raise questions about safety. It also gives Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson an opportunity to restore Michigan IDs and drivers licenses, thus inflating our voter rolls.
In 2020, the Michigan Legislature passed a package of bills known as the Clean Slate Laws. The laws were designed to expand Michigan’s narrow expungement laws to give people a second chance at employment.
Under the legislation, many crimes (committed in Michigan) are now automatically expunged—including four misdemeanors and two felonies if there are no repeat convictions after 10 years. Almost anything beyond that can be expunged through a manual application process requiring special approval by the courts.
A Michigan Enjoyer review of expunged offenses from April 11, 2021 through July of 2025 reveals exactly what has been expunged.
Some fair and reasonable updates to the legislation began in April, 2021, and include expungements of:
- Possession of marijuana
- Minor in possession of alcohol
- Hunting, fishing, gaming, and other recreation misdemeanors
- Fireworks possession
- One drunk driving offense
The legislation specifically excludes weapons offenses, crimes involving a minor, and possession of child abusive sexual material, but many of these offenses appear to have been expunged. Specifically:
- 353 Criminal Sexual Conduct Cases, 83 involving a person under the age of 13
- 20 Cases of child sexually abusive material possession or delivery
- 29 Cases of accosting a child for immoral purposes
- 289 Child abuse cases
- 2,907 Assault cases
It’s troubling that someone could be charged and convicted with criminal sexual conduct or possession of child pornography and have that crime expunged within 10 years. This becomes even more troubling when you consider many of the convictions likely involved a plea deal from a more serious charge.
Those second or third degree child abuse cases may have started as first degree. When the expungement goes through, all records, including fingerprints, and court records are sealed and not visible on background checks for schools, daycares, and other employment options that could involve children.
Why are these crimes being expunged?
Some other notable offenses have been expunged:
- 1,661 Jail or prison escapes
- 5,295 Prostitution cases
- 2,144 Animal cruelty cases
- 20,244 Crimes against police
- 2,705 Homicide cases
The largest category of expungements isn’t related to sex, drugs, or violence. It’s traffic misdemeanors.
Over 500,000 traffic misdemeanors have been automatically expunged since 2021, most notably driving with a suspended, revoked, or denied driver’s license (128,000), and operating without a driver’s license (119,000).
When the law was passed in 2020, it specified the Secretary of State was not required to remove the points affiliated with these offenses but sure enough, Jocelyn Benson chose to do so. Her first round of lifted suspensions resulted in 12,000 new drivers licenses issued.
“We’ve continued to analyze the new laws in order to get eligible Michiganders safely back behind the wheel,” said Benson.
With the passage of Michigan’s automatic voter registration in 2018’s Proposal 3, new licenses result in an increase to Michigan’s voter rolls. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Clean slate. Clean driving record. New driver’s License. New voters.
Expungements can offer Michiganders a second chance if they made a mistake, but the law seems to have cleared the criminal history of those that should be in the system, potentially making Michiganders unsafe. So does allowing thousands of unlicensed drivers back on the road.
We shouldn’t have to trade our safety for inflated voter rolls.
Anna Hoffman is a hockey mom of three living in Ann Arbor. Follow her on X @shoesonplease.
