Federal judge tosses RNC lawsuit challenging Michigan's voter registration maintenance
A federal court in Michigan dismissed a lawsuit over voter records, dealing another blow this week to the Republican National Committee's efforts to target the battleground state over the voting process.
The lawsuit accused the Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Michigan Bureau of Elections Director Jonathan Brater of failing to "maintain clean and accurate voter registration records." U.S. District Judge Jane Beckering said Republicans did not supply evidence and lacked legal standing in their challenge.
Earlier this week, a Michigan state judge rejected the RNC's separate attempt to disqualify the ballots of certain overseas and military voters.
The RNC alleged in its original March complaint that there are more registered voters in Michigan than eligible citizens, a claim that misrepresents data and has been echoed in recent days by Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla and Space X and owner of the social media platform X. The Republicans in the case argued the state failed to remove some people who are no longer eligible from voter rolls and violated the National Voting Rights Act.
The court disagreed. The judge said the Republicans' claim was not plausible and did not demonstrate any specific case of an ineligible voter on the state's active voter list.
The RNC and its attorneys on the lawsuit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Benson issued the following statement on Tuesday:
"False and meritless claims - whether they are posted on social media or in legal filings - won't stand up in court. That's where evidence, the law, and facts rule the day. I'm grateful the federal court today again affirmed our vigorous work to maintain the accuracy of Michigan's voter rolls in accordance with state and federal law. In doing so, they dismissed a lawsuit designed to plant false seeds of doubt about the integrity of my work and our elections.
"Let me be clear: We have secure elections in Michigan. Our state's bipartisan, professional election officials work with the state Bureau of Elections every day to ensure every valid vote – and only valid votes – count in this and every election.
"As we head into the final days of the 2024 election, we will continue to serve the people of Michigan with a commitment to telling the truth, stating the facts, following the law, and operating with transparency. To those with other interests and agendas, some advice: Next time you're in a hole, stop digging."
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel also issued a statement:
"The Court's ruling is yet another example of the Republican National Committee's strategy to present baseless, frivolous arguments both inside courtrooms as well as on social media," said Nessel. "Michigan should be applauded as a leader in voter registration and maintenance of its voter rolls, not the target of meritless political lawsuits that serve no purpose but to incite uncertainty in our Democratic processes. That a major national political party is engaging in lawsuits that serve no purpose other than to undermine the public's faith in our system of elections is shameful."
While the state does have more total voter registrations than eligible voters, that number includes voters who are inactive but cannot yet be removed from voter rolls under federal and state laws.
Federal law prohibits states from removing voters who may be ineligible until at least two federal general elections have passed since those voters failed to respond to an official notice, Beckering noted. According to the Secretary of State, there are more than 550,000 voters who were registered but, as of March, are currently slated for cancellation in 2025 or 2027.
"False and meritless claims — whether they are posted on social media or in legal filings — won't stand up in court," Benson said in a statement. "That's where evidence, the law, and facts rule the day."
The lawsuit from the RNC is part of a broader effort led by Republicans to challenge large numbers of voter registration to raise questions about the integrity of this year's election as Trump repeatedly claims without evidence that his opponents are trying to cheat.