Butzel’s Education Industry Team consists of (front row, l-r) Mark Lezotte, Lynn McGuire (co-chair), Carey DeWitt (co-chair), Reginald Pacis, and Sarah Nirenberg; (back) Brett Miller, Donald Miller, James Rosenfeld, Kurtis Wilder, and Barrett Young.
By Ben Solis
Gongwer News Service
Another lawsuit filed against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson by the Republican National Committee and the Michigan Republican Party claims the state isn’t doing enough to enforce an absent voter ballot number matching requirement.
The lawsuit, RNC v. Benson (COC Docket No. 24-000148), filed Thursday in the Court of Claims, asserts Benson’s guidance for the 2024 election conflicts with statute on the matter.
“Michigan law requires that absent voter ballots have an attached, numbered, perforated stub, which is used to ensure accurate vote counts and confirm that an elector is casting the correct ballot,” the complaint said.
“These stubs matter – Michigan law requires local clerks and election inspectors to reject absent voter ballots where the stub is missing or the number on the stub does not match the number in the poll book or on the ballot return envelope. In fact, this number-matching scheme is one of the few internal safeguards to ensure that an absentee voter is casting the ballot they were issued by election officials.”
The lawsuit claims Benson’s election guidance to clerks instructs them and election inspectors to process and tabulate absent voter ballots where the stub is missing or the number does not match the number in the pollbook, or on the ballot return envelope. The RNC contends that the instructions tell them to mark those ballots as “challenged” rather than rejected, as required by Michigan law.
“Importantly, a ‘challenged ballot’ is not the same as a ‘rejected ballot,’” the complaint said. “Unlike rejected ballots – which are not tabulated – challenged ballots are still tabulated by election inspectors and the corresponding votes are applied to the vote totals reflected in the corresponding election returns.”
With the November election just a few months away, the plaintiffs requested Chief Judge Brock Swartzle issue a ruling and grant them relief by mid-October so the parties can appeal whatever Swartzle decides and before clerks start processing absentee ballots.
Bureau of Elections Director Jonathan Brater is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
The RNC has made challenging election guidance from Benson and various Michigan municipalities a frequent part of its legal strategy ahead of the November contest.
Earlier this month, the RNC and MIGOP sued Benson over her guidance on absentee voter signature verification.
In late August, the RNC, the MIGOP and multiple Wayne County Republican committees sued the city of Detroit on allegations that it deliberately failed to hire enough GOP election inspectors and poll workers.
The RNC sued Benson in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan in March on claims that the Department of State and the Bureau of Elections failed to maintain clean voting records. It seeks to compel Benson to remove voters from the rolls and properly maintain them in compliance with federal law.
In the Court of Claims, the RNC sued Benson on claims the state hasn’t created enough or proper absentee voting safeguards to prevent fraud. It asserts the Michigan Constitution requires local election officials to verify the identity of absentee voters by comparing the signature on absentee ballot envelopes to a voter’s signature in the Qualified Voter File.
The RNC and its allies claim that Benson three years earlier issued instructions to local officials to presume, but not verify, the validity of absentee voter signatures when verifications take place.
All those cases remain pending aside from the latter, which was decided in June. Both parties claimed victory in that lawsuit as Judge Christopher Yates split the difference in his ruling.
Gongwer News Service
Another lawsuit filed against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson by the Republican National Committee and the Michigan Republican Party claims the state isn’t doing enough to enforce an absent voter ballot number matching requirement.
The lawsuit, RNC v. Benson (COC Docket No. 24-000148), filed Thursday in the Court of Claims, asserts Benson’s guidance for the 2024 election conflicts with statute on the matter.
“Michigan law requires that absent voter ballots have an attached, numbered, perforated stub, which is used to ensure accurate vote counts and confirm that an elector is casting the correct ballot,” the complaint said.
“These stubs matter – Michigan law requires local clerks and election inspectors to reject absent voter ballots where the stub is missing or the number on the stub does not match the number in the poll book or on the ballot return envelope. In fact, this number-matching scheme is one of the few internal safeguards to ensure that an absentee voter is casting the ballot they were issued by election officials.”
The lawsuit claims Benson’s election guidance to clerks instructs them and election inspectors to process and tabulate absent voter ballots where the stub is missing or the number does not match the number in the pollbook, or on the ballot return envelope. The RNC contends that the instructions tell them to mark those ballots as “challenged” rather than rejected, as required by Michigan law.
“Importantly, a ‘challenged ballot’ is not the same as a ‘rejected ballot,’” the complaint said. “Unlike rejected ballots – which are not tabulated – challenged ballots are still tabulated by election inspectors and the corresponding votes are applied to the vote totals reflected in the corresponding election returns.”
With the November election just a few months away, the plaintiffs requested Chief Judge Brock Swartzle issue a ruling and grant them relief by mid-October so the parties can appeal whatever Swartzle decides and before clerks start processing absentee ballots.
Bureau of Elections Director Jonathan Brater is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
The RNC has made challenging election guidance from Benson and various Michigan municipalities a frequent part of its legal strategy ahead of the November contest.
Earlier this month, the RNC and MIGOP sued Benson over her guidance on absentee voter signature verification.
In late August, the RNC, the MIGOP and multiple Wayne County Republican committees sued the city of Detroit on allegations that it deliberately failed to hire enough GOP election inspectors and poll workers.
The RNC sued Benson in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan in March on claims that the Department of State and the Bureau of Elections failed to maintain clean voting records. It seeks to compel Benson to remove voters from the rolls and properly maintain them in compliance with federal law.
In the Court of Claims, the RNC sued Benson on claims the state hasn’t created enough or proper absentee voting safeguards to prevent fraud. It asserts the Michigan Constitution requires local election officials to verify the identity of absentee voters by comparing the signature on absentee ballot envelopes to a voter’s signature in the Qualified Voter File.
The RNC and its allies claim that Benson three years earlier issued instructions to local officials to presume, but not verify, the validity of absentee voter signatures when verifications take place.
All those cases remain pending aside from the latter, which was decided in June. Both parties claimed victory in that lawsuit as Judge Christopher Yates split the difference in his ruling.
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