A lawsuit, initiated by the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), on Thursday alleges that Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has continuously failed to maintain accurate and current voter rolls, as required by federal law.
The suit, filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, details that Benson has failed to remove deceased registrants from the voter rolls.
Furthermore, the top elections official has not supplied documents regarding efforts to remove deceased registrants from the voter rolls.
“This case is about ensuring that deceased registrants are not receiving ballots,” said PILF President J. Christian Adams. “For over a year, we’ve shared specific data with the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office about the alarming problem of deceased registrants on Michigan’s voter rolls. Secretary Benson has done nothing to resolve the problem and is even refusing to hand over public documents related to these failures. The failure to remove deceased registrants creates an opportunity for fraud and makes Michigan’s elections less secure.”
The group alleges that there are thousands of deceased individuals who remain on voter lists:
The Foundation’s analysis reveals that as of August 2021, there were over 25,975 deceased registrants on Michigan’s voter rolls. Of those 25,975:
- 23,663 registrants have dead for five years or more
- 17,479 registrants have been dead for at least a decade
- 3,956 registrants have been dead for at least 20 years
Additionally, the group maintains that it identified an individual that died over two decades ago but remains an active voter on Michigan’s voter rolls.
Citing Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, the lawsuit says that the findings “merit investigation and action by the Defendant.”
Before filing the suit, PILF noted their concerns to Benson’s office multiple times.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “Voting Booths” by Tim Evanson. CC BY-SA 2.0.
