The Michigan Republican Party, Michigan Township of Chesterfield clerk Cindy Berry, and the Republican National Committee filed suit against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on Nov. 18 over an “unconstitutional and unlawful” violation of the state’s constitution.
The lawsuit follows Benson’s directive in 2024, which allowed individuals with ties to Michigan but not residing in the state to vote in the state’s elections.
“A United States citizen who has never resided in the United States but who has a parent, legal guardian, or spouse who was last domiciled in Michigan is eligible to vote in Michigan as long as the citizen has not registered or voted in another state,” says Chapter 7 of Benson’s Election Officials Manual for Military and Overseas Voters, Federal Voter Registration and Absent Voting Programs.
The plaintiffs asked the court to block Benson’s directive from taking effect for individuals who fall under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act and to release a declaratory judgment that the secretary’s directive goes against the law.
“As a result, certain people who have never resided in Michigan (or perhaps anywhere else in this country) are registering to vote and voting in Michigan elections,” the lawsuit says.
“Michigan election officials have registered persons to vote who have never resided in Michigan and have allowed them to vote in Michigan’s state, local, and federal elections,” it says, adding, “So the Secretary of State’s guidance is both unconstitutional and unlawful.”
The lawsuit says Benson has used her executive authority to override the power of the state legislature and prevent them from amending the state constitution to allow people who do not reside in the state to vote.
“Simply, she has taken the Legislature’s power and used it to thwart them from fulfilling their duty to ‘enact laws … to preserve the purity of elections,'” the suit argues.
Berry, who filed the lawsuit alongside the RNC and the Michigan GOP, added in the lawsuit that she seeks the judge’s discernment on whether “clerks and election inspectors are, and will continue to be, subject to the Secretary’s instructions.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the RNC, Michigan GOP, and Benson’s office for comment and a copy of the lawsuit.
If the court does not uphold the lawsuit, Democrats could see a major advantage in the polls.
“From all the analysis that we’ve done and seen, something like 80% of Americans abroad vote Democrat,” Bruce Heyman, former Democratic National Committee strategist and U.S. ambassador to Canada, told Politico in 2024.
This lawsuit marks the second legal complaint against Benson over her alleged circumvention of election integrity safeguards. In October 2024, a similar lawsuit was filed against Benson for granting voting rights to people who have resided in the state for at least six months.
The same plaintiffs of the latest lawsuit alleged that Benson’s guidance violated Article 2 of the Michigan Constitution, which says a person must reside in the state for at least six months before casting a ballot.
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That lawsuit was tossed by Judge Sima Patel of the state’s Court of Claims weeks before the 2024 presidential election. Patel, who was appointed to her seat by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), denied the Republicans’ argument because the complaint was filed too close to the election.
“[The lawsuit was an] 11th-hour attempt to disenfranchise these electors in the Nov. 5, 2024, general election,” Patel argued.
