Answering questions about 'mysterious' vans on Election Night

Black vans and U-Hauls mysteriously pulling up to Huntington Place, downtown Detroit, on election night with ballots. That's what you might have heard over the years, even this week. We're here to set the record straight. Fox 2's Jessica Dupnak is live in downtown Detroit to bring us the facts. And Jessica, that scene we just described and drew the picture of, it happens during elections, but there's a reason behind that. Yeah, absolutely, Rupin. It's something we've been hearing over the years. A little sidebar for you here at Huntington Place. They got an anime convention going on. These are not the election officials walking out in costume behind me. Let's talk a little bit about this folklore surrounding those black vans and U-Haul trucks that have pulled around Huntington Place and made headlines in the past. They're making headlines once again. Even Republican Mike Rogers, who's running for U.S. Senate, said in the past that the mystery vans cost him the election in 2020. I was at Huntington Place then, back in 2020, when the uproar over these late-night ballot drop-offs started. It was TCF Center in 2020, and the facility was set up to be a field hospital for COVID. You might remember that at the time. U-Haul trucks dropped off ballots in the middle of the night after collecting from ballot boxes citywide. Even a news photographer hauling gear in a wagon became public enemy number one. It turned into a nationwide conversation as President Trump... Trump challenged the integrity of the election, but we learned there is a very reasonable explanation for it all. We took our questions to Matt Friedman. He's a spokesperson for Detroit Votes, a nonpartisan information campaign. Take a listen. As the folks that maybe are hanging out in the back of Huntington Place trying to catch a glimpse of something, if they see black vans, if they see U-Hauls, what is one thing you want folks to know? That is what is supposed to happen by law, to make sure that legal ballots are collected from drop boxes and taken to the right place. And I get asked about this every year, well, how come it's a rental truck? Well, the city of Detroit... It's not in the taxpayer's best interest for the city to own a truck to use on election night, which happens once a year. So the integrity of the election process and the counting process here at Huntington Place has come into question, along with how long it takes for this all to happen. We're gonna get into that later on The Edge at 11. For now, reporting live, downtown Detroit, Jessica Dupnak, Fox 2 News. Yeah, and Jessica, we know the DOJ is sending out election monitors throughout Metro Detroit and in other parts of Michigan. Instead of looking at that as somewhat of a negative, perhaps their presence there If someone does see a black van later, they can ask the question, but then the question can be answered right there, transparently. That, that's, that's exactly it, Rupin. It really is transparent. Like I said, I was here in 2020, 2024. Journalists are allowed on the election floor. You really do get a lot of access. Of course, you said the folks from the DOJ, we've got challengers from both sides of the aisle that can question anything that they see as being maybe a little bit suspicious. In the past, there's a real simple explanation for it all. All right. Our Jessica Dupnak for us live tonight. Jess, thank you for that.