Michigan GOP Calls for Federal Oversight in Upcoming Elections
As Michigan prepares for a high-stakes election year, Republican lawmakers are seeking federal intervention to ensure impartiality in the state’s election process. Twenty-two Republican state legislators have formally requested that the Trump administration oversee the upcoming elections, citing potential conflicts of interest.
The request, detailed in a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, highlights concerns about Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s dual role as both election supervisor and gubernatorial candidate. The lawmakers argue this presents “an inherent and unavoidable conflict of interest.”
This letter intensifies the ongoing disputes between Republicans in the legislature and Secretary Benson, a Democrat, regarding the management of elections in Michigan. The GOP lawmakers assert that Benson’s involvement in overseeing an election in which she is a candidate could undermine the fairness of the process.
In response, Benson’s office dismissed the need for federal oversight, suggesting it is both dangerous and hypocritical. “They instead use dangerous, false rhetoric to encourage President Trump to illegally interfere in our state’s ability to hold fair and free elections,” said Angela Benander, Benson’s Chief Communications Officer.
Historically, Michigan secretaries of state have been involved in elections where they were on the ballot. Benson managed her re-election in 2022, while her predecessor, Ruth Johnson, oversaw elections during her campaigns for secretary of state and the state Senate. Johnson is among the signatories of the letter.
Included among the letter’s signers are other prominent state GOP figures, such as Rachelle Smit, Chair of the state House Election Integrity Committee, and Michigan Republican Party Chair Jim Runestad. The letter also criticizes Benson’s election management and her handling of voter rolls—a subject of scrutiny by the GOP-led state House Oversight Committee.
With major offices such as governor, attorney general, and U.S. Senate up for grabs, alongside the entire U.S. House and state legislature, the stakes in Michigan’s upcoming election are significant. The Department of Justice has not yet commented on the GOP lawmakers’ request.
The Michigan elections are safeguarded by a robust system involving 1,600 local clerks from both major parties, along with federal monitors. Benson’s office maintains that this system is sufficient to ensure the integrity of the elections.
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