Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is headed back to court, after the Honest Elections Project reviewed voter rolls across the state of Michigan and found some shocking numbers.
Benson, and state and local Michigan election officials are being sued over their failure to comply with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), threatening to disenfranchise Michigan voters this fall.
Turns out, she’s failed to make a reasonable effort to conduct appropriate list maintenance required by law, and as a result, 16 counties appear to have grossly inflated voter rolls.
In fact, after comparing the most recently available Michigan voter registration data to the U.S. Census Bureau’s voting-eligible population estimates, it was discovered that Leelenau County has a registration rate of 102%! That’s right – Jocelyn Benson’s voter rolls are so sloppy, there are more registered voters than there are eligible voters in at least on Michigan county.
Fifteen other counties have registration rates between 90% and 100%. The state’s average registration rate is 73.4%.
Months ago, Benson received a formal request to clean the rolls and address the problems. She refused, and that’s a big deal.
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, and they simply haven’t.
It’s a casual disregard for the law that threatens the integrity of local, state and national elections this fall. We believe in the rule of law and are pleased that the Honest Elections Project has taken action to hold her accountable.
Sincerely,
Angela Meyers
Senior Advisor
Michigan Freedom Fund
