Republican leader calls for Benson to rescind rule proposal

House Republican Leader Matt Hall today called on Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to withdraw her latest violation of the law ahead of the November general election.

Hall, R-Richland Township, pointed out that Benson’s proposed rules for recounting election results contradict several provisions of current state law, including statutory language allowing for recounts on the basis of fraud and empowering officials to thoroughly investigate the facts alleged in recount petitions.

“The people want free and fair elections that follow the law, not government officials with a grudge who make up the rules as they go,” Hall said. “Secretary Benson can’t override state law, but that’s what she’s trying to do. She wants to ram through her own rules ahead of the election, even though they contradict current election law. With this partisan ploy, the secretary of state is putting her thumb on the scale. This move opens cracks in our election system that bad actors can exploit to undermine election integrity.”

Courts have struck down several past attempts by Benson to change election procedures in violation of the law. For example, the secretary of state has attempted multiple times to direct clerks to presume absentee ballot signatures are valid, and she has tried to change the parameters of poll challenger duties without going through the public rulemaking process.

Benson is currently attempting to expedite her proposed recount regulations in time for the 2024 election. Jonathan Brater, the director of Benson’s Bureau of Elections, recently told the press that the rules might take effect prior to the November general election, and the department urged the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules to waive the 15-session-day review period so the rules could take effect immediately.

In a letter to Brater, Hall denounced the attempted end-run around Michigan election law and urged the department to rescind the proposed rules.

“Now, with her move to expedite recount rules that violate the law, the secretary of state seems to be keeping open the option of influencing the election at the last minute. That’s not how this is supposed to work,” Hall wrote. “Election laws should be clear and consistent for everyone to understand, and for campaigns and election officials to follow. Your actions do nothing but create confusion and conflicting interpretations just days before early voting begins.”

Michigan law currently allows candidates to request a recount in case of fraud, but the proposed rules would require canvassers to deny any recount petition that does not meet very narrow criteria — criteria that do not include fraud as a valid reason for a recount. Current law also requires canvassers to investigate facts alleged in a recount request, but the pending rules would eliminate this duty and restrict the recount process to a determination of vote tallies.