{"id":1708473,"date":"2022-10-24T08:03:02","date_gmt":"2022-10-24T12:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1708473"},"modified":"2022-10-24T08:03:26","modified_gmt":"2022-10-24T12:03:26","slug":"judge-strikes-down-michigan-secretary-of-states-restrictions-on-poll-challengers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-strikes-down-michigan-secretary-of-states-restrictions-on-poll-challengers\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Strikes Down Michigan Secretary Of State\u2019s Restrictions On Poll Challengers"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-strikes-down-michigan-secretary-of-states-restrictions-on-poll-challengers%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1708473&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In the latest advance for election integrity, the Republican National Committee (RNC) just won its lawsuit against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for restricting the rights of poll challengers. <\/p>\n<p>As previously <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/10\/05\/lawsuit-michigan-secretary-of-state-broke-the-law-with-rogue-restrictions-on-poll-challengers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, before Michigan\u2019s Aug. 2 primary, Benson issued last-minute <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/sos\/-\/media\/Project\/Websites\/sos\/01vanderroest\/SOS_ED_2_CHALLENGERS.pdf?rev=96200bfb95184c9b91d5b1779d08cb1b&#038;hash=2CE1F512E8D7E44AFAF60071DD8FD750\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">guidance<\/a> limiting poll challengers\u2019 ability to oversee local elections. This guidance included the superfluous addition of a form to apply to be a challenger, creating an artificial deadline for when poll challengers may be appointed, restricting who poll challengers can communicate with, and banning the use of electronic devices in absentee ballot counting areas. <\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit alleges that by issuing such guidance \u201cwithout any formal rule-making or process,\u201d Benson violated Michigan\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/dtmb\/-\/media\/Project\/Websites\/dtmb\/Law-and-Policies\/Admin-Guide\/2400\/241003-Administrative-Procedures-Act.pdf?rev=1cfb6e62159349dab44b3c8a62a210ce&#038;hash=22FA4BB418293AEF382ABA3BC6946469\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Administrative Procedures Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Michigan Court of Claims Judge Brock Swartzle <a href=\"https:\/\/acrobat.adobe.com\/link\/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:b5d2e39e-febf-3450-9c5c-89badaa0d785\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">agreed<\/a> with the RNC and invalidated the new guidelines. Benson and the state\u2019s elections director, Jonathan Brater,\u00a0must now rescind the guidelines or revise them to comply with Michigan election law. Swartzle also found that some of the provisions were at odds with Michigan\u2019s election code.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJocelyn Benson not only disregarded Michigan election law in issuing this guidance, she also violated the rights of political parties and poll challengers to fully ensure transparency and promote confidence that Michigan elections are run fairly and lawfully,\u201d RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in an emailed press release. \u201cThis ruling is a massive victory for election integrity, the rule of law, and Michigan voters.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Benson plans on appealing the ruling, according to her office.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Michigan Bureau of Elections has always provided clear and detailed instruction for interaction among all participants to ensure legal compliance, transparency, and equal treatment of all voters,\u201d Jake Rollow, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State\u2019s Office, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2022\/10\/20\/michigan-gop-election-challenger-lawsuit\/69560196007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> the Detroit Free Press. <\/p>\n<p>Benson has a history of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/magazine\/story\/2016\/08\/poll-election-monitor-challengers-vote-laws-watchers-214189\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">supporting restrictions on poll challengers<\/a>, a tactic used to decrease\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/11\/18\/georgia-republican-poll-watcher-discovered-recount-error-off-by-more-than-9000-votes-for-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">citizen oversight<\/a> in local elections. She\u2019s also known for <a href=\"https:\/\/content.govdelivery.com\/accounts\/MISOS\/bulletins\/2a4effc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">padding Michigan\u2019s voter rolls<\/a> with ineligible voters and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/08\/26\/judge-denies-michigan-secretary-of-states-motion-to-dismiss-lawsuit-removing-26000-dead-registrants-from-voter-rolls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">refusing to clean them<\/a>. During the chaotic 2020 presidential election, Benson played a crucial role in making last-minute changes to Michigan election law to boost Democratic voter turnout, helping to swing the state in favor of Joe Biden. <\/p>\n<p>This win by the RNC follows another <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/10\/14\/gop-wins-legal-challenge-against-restrictions-on-north-carolina-poll-watchers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legal victory<\/a> in North Carolina, where a judge ruled in favor of the RNC in a lawsuit seeking to protect the rights of poll watchers.<\/p>\n<p> Victoria Marshall is a staff writer at The Federalist. Her writing has been featured in the New York Post, National Review, and Townhall. She graduated from Hillsdale College in May 2021 with a major in politics and a minor in journalism. Follow her on Twitter @vemrshll.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The RNC has won its lawsuit against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for restricting the rights of poll challengers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1130,"featured_media":1708476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1708473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1708473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1708473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1708473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1708476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1708473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1708473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1708473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}