Michigan Judge Overturns Absentee Ballot Guidance Amid Ongoing Political Dispute
In a significant legal development, a Michigan Court of Claims judge has ruled against the guidance issued by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office concerning absentee ballots with mismatched or missing numbers on their stubs and return envelopes. The decision highlights ongoing tensions in the state’s election processes.
The procedure in question involves Michigan’s mail-in ballots, which feature detachable stubs with unique numbers intended to match those on the return envelopes. Instances arise where these numbers do not align or are absent when ballots arrive at polling stations.
Previously, Benson’s guidance allowed such ballots to be processed as “challenged ballots,” permitting them to be counted. However, the court’s ruling now mandates that these ballots cannot be included in the count unless the voter is contacted to rectify the issue.
Judge Brock Swartzle emphasized the importance of election integrity in his decision, stating, “Partisans and pundits will sometimes place election integrity in tension with the right to vote. This is a fallacy, as an election without integrity is as much a danger to a citizen’s vote as would be simply taking away the franchise.”
This ruling adds another layer to the ongoing legal battles between the Democratic Secretary of State and Republicans, who argue that current rules make it too easy for ineligible individuals to vote. A spokesperson for Benson countered that the challenges aim to disenfranchise legitimate voters.
Angela Benander, Benson’s Chief Communications Officer, remarked in an email to Michigan Public Radio, “Their plan is to use these court cases to cast doubt on our ability to administer free and fair elections and lay the groundwork for them to challenge any legitimate election result they don’t like. Their goal is always the same – to prevent thousands of eligible Michigan voters from making their voices heard in our elections.”
The lawsuit was initiated by the Republican National Committee, the Michigan Republican Party, and a township clerk aspiring for the GOP secretary of state nomination.
Jim Runestad, Chair of the Michigan Republican Party, asserted the lawsuits are crucial to ensuring only properly cast votes are counted, criticizing Benson for her inability to successfully defend against the legal challenges. “She’s been losing most of them and saying that these are frivolous, although the courts take them up — they don’t have to,” he remarked. “She loses them and says, ‘this is to disenfranchise.’ No, she is the disenfranchiser.”
Judge Swartzle, who previously ran unsuccessfully for the Michigan Supreme Court, has set a December 17 deadline for parties to submit briefs exploring potential solutions for voters to correct defective ballots in upcoming elections.
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