Swartzle rules complaints failed to meet notice and verification requirements
By Ben Solis
Gongwer News Service
A Court of Claims judge on Monday dismissed three lawsuits surrounding an issue with Dominion Voting Systems’ voter assisted terminals announced two weeks ago by the Department of State, each filed on the eve of election day.
The lawsuits were filed Monday in the Court of Claims by three township clerks and an attorney who is currently embroiled in other legal battles regarding voting machines following the 2020 election.
The complaints in Olson v. Benson, Schierkolk v. Benson and Beaudet v. Benson (COC Docket Nos. 24-000177-79) all read along the same lines and request motions for extraordinary relief, as well as requested writs of mandamus, just 24 hours before voters cast their final ballots in 2024.
Judge Brock Swartzle, however, dismissed each complaint late Monday evening, ruling that all three failed to meet the notice and verification requirements spelled out in the Court of Claims Act.
Each of the complaints focus on the Bureau of Elections’ announcement on October 25 of a programming issue with Dominion’s VATs which will not stop voters with disabilities from casting their ballots, but would make it less convenient than usual.
The programming issue sends an error message when a voter in question selects the straight party voting option but then proceeds to split their ticket. In those cases, voters will need to go back and de-select their straight-party selection and vote for candidates in races individually, or just use the straight-party ticket option without splitting up their ballots, the Bureau of Elections said in a news release.
The issue affects VATs in counties that use Dominion voting equipment, which is a majority of Michigan’s 83 counties. The bureau also refrained from calling it a glitch or a flaw, but rather a programmatic issue.
Lawsuits filed Monday against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Elections Director Jonathan Brater allege that the announcement called the issue a glitch, and alleged that an individual from Election Source, a supplier of election equipment, sent instructions to officials on how to bypass and use the VATs.
The complaint in Olson from Irving Township Clerk Sharon Olson further contends that updates or alterations to voting equipment, that have been prepared in advance for elections, is unlawful and a violation of state and federal law. They also delve deep into refuted claims that the machines have operating systems and wifi connections that could be manipulated, and that the issue was noted as affecting voting machines nationwide, not just in Michigan.
The lawsuits assert that the nationwide nature of the issue is alarming and that Benson and Brater should be enjoined from accessing or manipulating the machines in any way.
Schierkolk also seeks an emergency temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction on the same claims but adds that Rock River Township Clerk Tom Schierkolk and Deputy Clerk David LaMere were barred from administering the election because they planned to do a hand count of ballots, eschewing all Dominion machines, which are used in Alger County. The lawsuit seeks to enjoin Benson and Brater from barring Schierkolk and LaMere and to have the court issue a cease and desist order to stop “any and all efforts to effectuate this unauthorized and
unconstitutional removal of the plaintiff from his constitutional office and ‘appoint’ another individual to that office.”
Like Schierkolk, the complaint in Beaudet states that Beaver Creek Township Clerk Sandy Beaudet also plans to hand count the votes following the close of polls on Election Day, and seeks a similar TRO and preliminary injunction to prevent Benson and Brater from removing her as they have Schierkolk.
Unlike Schierkolk, however, the plaintiff in Beaudet does not assert that she has been removed from office.
The complaints are otherwise rife with claims against Dominion that are being ferreted out in other courts after the voting equipment company sued several individuals for making defamatory claims about their machines following the 2020 election.
One of those individuals is attorney Stefanie Lambert Junttila, who is the attorney for all three clerks who sued Benson and Brater on Monday. Junttila, who often goes by Stefanie Lambert, faces charges in Hillsdale County of transmitting election data from Adams Township and later providing that information to a third party. She is also a defendant in an Oakland County criminal case for tabulator theft and tampering along with former Rep. Daire Rendon of Lake City, and attorney Matthew DePerno.
Junttila rose to fame among Michigan Republicans for her efforts to try and prove unsubstantiated reports of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
The state responded to the complaint in Olson on Monday, asserting counter-facts to the plaintiff’s claims and seeking summary disposition based on the doctrine of laches because the situation had transpired weeks ago. The plaintiff in Olson, and by proxy Schierkolk and Beaudet, waited until the eve of Election Day to file their complaints, and represent an unreasonable delay in bringing the lawsuits. Because Michigan election law requires the use of voting machines, the votes cannot be hand-counted as the plaintiffs wish, either. Michigan clerks are also not vested with any statutory or constitutional authority to ignore lawful instructions from the department relating to the use and access of voting equipment.
The plaintiff in Olson is therefore not entitled to mandamus relief, the Benson and Brater argue, and that summary disposition should be granted to the state.
Swartzle in the orders to dismiss the cases did not reach the merits of the complaints, but rather said they failed to adhere to the court’s standards for filing a verified complaint.
Gongwer News Service
A Court of Claims judge on Monday dismissed three lawsuits surrounding an issue with Dominion Voting Systems’ voter assisted terminals announced two weeks ago by the Department of State, each filed on the eve of election day.
The lawsuits were filed Monday in the Court of Claims by three township clerks and an attorney who is currently embroiled in other legal battles regarding voting machines following the 2020 election.
The complaints in Olson v. Benson, Schierkolk v. Benson and Beaudet v. Benson (COC Docket Nos. 24-000177-79) all read along the same lines and request motions for extraordinary relief, as well as requested writs of mandamus, just 24 hours before voters cast their final ballots in 2024.
Judge Brock Swartzle, however, dismissed each complaint late Monday evening, ruling that all three failed to meet the notice and verification requirements spelled out in the Court of Claims Act.
Each of the complaints focus on the Bureau of Elections’ announcement on October 25 of a programming issue with Dominion’s VATs which will not stop voters with disabilities from casting their ballots, but would make it less convenient than usual.
The programming issue sends an error message when a voter in question selects the straight party voting option but then proceeds to split their ticket. In those cases, voters will need to go back and de-select their straight-party selection and vote for candidates in races individually, or just use the straight-party ticket option without splitting up their ballots, the Bureau of Elections said in a news release.
The issue affects VATs in counties that use Dominion voting equipment, which is a majority of Michigan’s 83 counties. The bureau also refrained from calling it a glitch or a flaw, but rather a programmatic issue.
Lawsuits filed Monday against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Elections Director Jonathan Brater allege that the announcement called the issue a glitch, and alleged that an individual from Election Source, a supplier of election equipment, sent instructions to officials on how to bypass and use the VATs.
The complaint in Olson from Irving Township Clerk Sharon Olson further contends that updates or alterations to voting equipment, that have been prepared in advance for elections, is unlawful and a violation of state and federal law. They also delve deep into refuted claims that the machines have operating systems and wifi connections that could be manipulated, and that the issue was noted as affecting voting machines nationwide, not just in Michigan.
The lawsuits assert that the nationwide nature of the issue is alarming and that Benson and Brater should be enjoined from accessing or manipulating the machines in any way.
Schierkolk also seeks an emergency temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction on the same claims but adds that Rock River Township Clerk Tom Schierkolk and Deputy Clerk David LaMere were barred from administering the election because they planned to do a hand count of ballots, eschewing all Dominion machines, which are used in Alger County. The lawsuit seeks to enjoin Benson and Brater from barring Schierkolk and LaMere and to have the court issue a cease and desist order to stop “any and all efforts to effectuate this unauthorized and
unconstitutional removal of the plaintiff from his constitutional office and ‘appoint’ another individual to that office.”
Like Schierkolk, the complaint in Beaudet states that Beaver Creek Township Clerk Sandy Beaudet also plans to hand count the votes following the close of polls on Election Day, and seeks a similar TRO and preliminary injunction to prevent Benson and Brater from removing her as they have Schierkolk.
Unlike Schierkolk, however, the plaintiff in Beaudet does not assert that she has been removed from office.
The complaints are otherwise rife with claims against Dominion that are being ferreted out in other courts after the voting equipment company sued several individuals for making defamatory claims about their machines following the 2020 election.
One of those individuals is attorney Stefanie Lambert Junttila, who is the attorney for all three clerks who sued Benson and Brater on Monday. Junttila, who often goes by Stefanie Lambert, faces charges in Hillsdale County of transmitting election data from Adams Township and later providing that information to a third party. She is also a defendant in an Oakland County criminal case for tabulator theft and tampering along with former Rep. Daire Rendon of Lake City, and attorney Matthew DePerno.
Junttila rose to fame among Michigan Republicans for her efforts to try and prove unsubstantiated reports of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
The state responded to the complaint in Olson on Monday, asserting counter-facts to the plaintiff’s claims and seeking summary disposition based on the doctrine of laches because the situation had transpired weeks ago. The plaintiff in Olson, and by proxy Schierkolk and Beaudet, waited until the eve of Election Day to file their complaints, and represent an unreasonable delay in bringing the lawsuits. Because Michigan election law requires the use of voting machines, the votes cannot be hand-counted as the plaintiffs wish, either. Michigan clerks are also not vested with any statutory or constitutional authority to ignore lawful instructions from the department relating to the use and access of voting equipment.
The plaintiff in Olson is therefore not entitled to mandamus relief, the Benson and Brater argue, and that summary disposition should be granted to the state.
Swartzle in the orders to dismiss the cases did not reach the merits of the complaints, but rather said they failed to adhere to the court’s standards for filing a verified complaint.
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