Michigan’s Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is facing criticism and legal action over her refusal to purge the state’s inflated voter rolls, which include hundreds of thousands of inactive and ineligible registrations. The Republican National Committee (RNC) has filed a lawsuit alleging that Michigan’s failure to clean up its voter rolls violates the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), raising concerns about election integrity.
According to updated voter roll data published by Bridge Michigan, the state currently has 8.4 million registered voters—nearly 500,000 more than its voting-age population. This discrepancy prompted the RNC to file a lawsuit in February, claiming that Michigan’s refusal to comply with the NVRA undermines election integrity. The RNC has stated in the lawsuit, “Defendants’ failure to comply with the NVRA’s voter-list maintenance obligations increases the opportunity for ineligible voters or voter’s intent on fraud to cast ballots.”
Benson and her office, however, have dismissed these concerns. A spokeswoman for Benson has claimed that efforts to address the situation are intended “lay the groundwork to overturn the results of the election if they don’t like them.” No Republican has claimed this. Nonetheless, this is not the first time Michigan’s voter registration practices have come under fire. In 2020, a similar lawsuit forced the state to remove thousands of ineligible voters from the rolls.
Despite this, Michigan still has a significant imbalance between registered voters and the voting-age population. The state’s voter rolls now represent 103.8% of the voting-age population, far exceeding neighboring states like Indiana, which sits at 90.6%. Though the RNC does not claim that fraud has resulted from this discrepancy, it argues that the failure to maintain voter lists poses a risk to election integrity.
Benson’s resistance to cleaning up the voter rolls mirrors a separate lawsuit filed by the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) in 2020, which requested the removal of nearly 26,000 deceased voters from Michigan’s voter rolls. PILF provided detailed evidence that many of these individuals had been dead for years, yet they remained on the rolls. Federal Judge Jane Beckering ruled that Benson had failed to comply with Section 8 of the NVRA, which mandates the removal of deceased voters and other ineligible registrants. Benson refused to take action, arguing that her office had already made “reasonable efforts” to maintain accurate voter lists.
Critics argue that Benson’s refusal to act highlights a broader issue of transparency in Michigan’s election system. Maintaining accurate voter rolls is crucial for safeguarding election integrity, especially in battleground states like Michigan, where elections are often decided by narrow margins.
Whether Benson’s stance will hold up in court remains to be seen. However, the ongoing legal challenges suggest that the debate over Michigan’s voter rolls is far from over. As the case moves forward, Michigan residents may be one step closer to addressing the problem, despite resistance from the Secretary of State’s office.
Can’t wait to get rid of her!! She is bad for Michigan! Why isn’t she in jail? This isn’t her first go around with lawsuits, maybe 8 or do that she lost so far.
If I didn’t do my job, I would be fired. She needs to be fired.
This is crazy they claim there’s no fraud going on in our elections yet stuff like this happens. It’s sad and scary makes me not want to vote cuz what’s the point they’ll probably change my vote anyway
Why is she not in federal prison?