The Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson over alleged noncompliance with federal mandates regarding the upkeep of the state's "inflated and inaccurate" registry of voters.
"Election integrity starts with clean voter rolls, and that's why the National Voter Registration Act requires state officials to keep their rolls accurate and up-to-date," RNC Chair Michael Whatley said in a statement. "Jocelyn Benson has failed to follow the NVRA, leaving Michigan with inflated and inaccurate voter rolls ahead of the 2024 election."
In the lawsuit, the RNC claims that "76 of Michigan's 83 counties — 91.5% of counties — have inflated voter rolls that demonstrate a lack of compliance with the NVRA." The lawsuit states that 53 of Michigan's 83 counties have more active registered voters than residents over 18.
Benson denounced the lawsuit to the Detroit Free Press as a marketing ploy.
"Let's call this what it is," Benson said in a statement, "a PR campaign masquerading as a meritless lawsuit filled with baseless accusations that seek to diminish people's faith in the security of our elections. Shame on anyone who abuses the legal process to sow seeds of doubt in our democracy."
This is not the first time a government entity has been sued for not maintaining its voter registry. Judicial Watch has won cases in Pennsylvania, New York City, and Colorado, among others, regarding improper maintenance of voter rolls.
The RNC is seeking a court ruling that would find Michigan's state officials in breach of federal law. The RNC aims, according to the lawsuit, to compel these officials to "develop and implement reasonable and effective registration list-maintenance programs to cure their failure to comply ... and to ensure that ineligible registrants are not on the voter rolls."