Freedom Fund Applauds Lawsuit Demanding Jocelyn Benson Comply with National Voter Registration Act
Benson’s Refusal to Meet NVRA Legal Standards Leads to Bloated Voter Rolls Across Michigan, Heightens Risk of Election Fraud
LANSING MI, June 9, 2020 – Michigan Freedom Fund Senior Advisor Angela Meyers applauded the filing of a lawsuit today in U.S. District Court against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and state and local Michigan elections officials over their failure to comply with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), threatening to disenfranchise Michigan voters this fall.
Michigan Freedom Fund Executive Director Tony Daunt, in his role as a private citizen impacted by these violations, is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit filed by the Honest Elections Project, Michigan is failing to make a reasonable effort to conduct appropriate list maintenance as required by the NVRA. As a result, 16 counties appear to grossly have inflated voter rolls, threatening the integrity of upcoming elections.
Comparing the most recently available Michigan voter registration data to the U.S. Census Bureau’s voting-eligible population estimates reveals that Leelanau County, for instance, has a registration rate of 102%. 15 other counties have registration rates between 90% and 100%.
In 2016 and 2018, an average of 70.3% and 66.9% of voters were registered, respectively. In Michigan those rates were 74.1% and 73.4%, still far below the voter rolls in 16 Michigan counties.
“Jocelyn Benson refuses to comply with the National Voter Registration Act, or to clean Michigan’s voter rolls,” said Meyers. “The law is clear – Benson and elections officials are required to remove from voter rolls the names of voters who have died or moved away. They have not.
“Benson’s disregard for the law threatens the integrity of local, state and national elections, and we are proud Tony Daunt is willing to stand up to defend Michigan voters.”
In addition to Benson, defendants include Director of the Michigan Bureau of Elections Jonathan Brater, and the county clerks for 16 counties which have voter registration rates that exceed the number of eligible voters or are far above state or national averages.
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