{"id":2255241,"date":"2024-05-29T16:48:03","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T20:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/from-dead-registrants-to-inactive-mail-voters-complaints-highlight-michigans-voter-roll-mess\/"},"modified":"2024-05-29T16:54:54","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T20:54:54","slug":"from-dead-registrants-to-inactive-mail-voters-complaints-highlight-michigans-voter-roll-mess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/from-dead-registrants-to-inactive-mail-voters-complaints-highlight-michigans-voter-roll-mess\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan Voter Roll Issues: From Deceased Registrants to Inactive Mail Voters"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><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%2Ffrom-dead-registrants-to-inactive-mail-voters-complaints-highlight-michigans-voter-roll-mess%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=2255241&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>A conservative \u200dlegal group in Michigan is \u200bchallenging\u2064 a court ruling that\u2062 halted its efforts to remove 26,000 deceased residents from \u200bvoter rolls. Simultaneously, the RNC accuses the Secretary of State of neglecting 92,000 inactive registrants on\u2063 the mail\u2064 ballot list. The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) filed an appellate brief seeking to reverse \u200dthe \u200cdecision \u2064and \u200benforce voter registration laws.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<figure>                         <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A conservative legal group appealed a federal court ruling Tuesday that sidelined its efforts to clean Michigan\u2019s voter rolls of 26,000 apparently deceased residents. On the same day, the RNC alleged Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is not cleaning the permanent mail ballot list of 92,000 inactive registrants.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/publicinterestlegal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Filed-Opening-Brief.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">appellate brief<\/a> filed by the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) asked the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2024\/03\/01\/michigan-dead-voters-registration-recordings-removal-judge-rejects-challenge-jocelyn-benson\/72812636007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">decision<\/a> issued by U.S. District Court Judge Jane Beckering in March. Beckering, a Biden appointee, claimed Michigan makes a good-faith effort to remove ineligible voters from its voter rolls on a \u201cregular and ongoing basis,\u201d and subsequently dismissed the legal group\u2019s lawsuit, which asserted otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>PILF originally sued Benson in November 2021 for her alleged failure to remove roughly 26,000 potentially deceased registrants from the state\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-democrats-h-r-1-is-a-power-grab-would-undermine-states-election-rules\/\" title=\"Republicans: Democrats\u2019 H.R. 1 Is a Power Grab, Would Undermine States\u2019 Election Rules\">voter registration lists<\/a>, which the legal group argued constituted a violation of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fvap.gov\/uploads\/FVAP\/Policies\/nvralaw.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Voter Registration Act of 1993<\/a>. That law requires state officials to make \u201ca reasonable effort to remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PILF <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/08\/exclusive-see-the-grave-markers-of-long-dead-residents-listed-on-michigans-voter-rolls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">published<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/oNL9fbpYEvM?feature=shared\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mini-documentary<\/a> in February showcasing the grave markers of numerous deceased individuals reportedly still included on Michigan\u2019s voter rolls. <\/p>\n<p>In its appeal, PILF noted how its requests to depose Benson and a member of her staff over the alleged shortcomings in Michigan\u2019s voter file were denied by the district court. The group\u2019s attempt to depose ERIC, a third-party organization that works with Michigan on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mcconnell-shreds-controversial-bill-democrats-trying-to-pass-even-the-left-wing-aclu-opposes-this-bill\/\" title=\"McConnell Shreds Controversial Bill Democrats Trying To Pass: \u2018Even The Left-Wing ACLU Opposes This Bill\u2019\">voter list maintenance<\/a>, was also denied by a magistrate judge and Beckering.<\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist previously <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/03\/10-lies-democrats-tell-about-our-elections-and-how-to-refute-them\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/electronic-registration-information-center-eric\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC)<\/a> is a widely used <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/10-lies-democrats-tell-about-our-elections-and-how-to-refute-them\/\" title=\"Debunking 10 Democratic Election Myths\">voter-roll \u201cmanagement\u201d system founded<\/a> by far-left activist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/person\/david-becker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">David Becker<\/a> that places a higher priority on registering new voters than on cleaning up existing voter rolls. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/media-lie-about-this-leftist-linked-voter-roll-maintenance-group-to-protect-democrats-election-machine\/\" title=\"Media distort truth about leftist-linked voter roll 'maintenance' group to shield Democrats' election machine\">program inflates voter rolls<\/a>\u00a0by requiring member states to contact \u201celigible but unregistered\u201d residents and encourage them to register to vote.<\/p>\n<p>PILF claimed in its appellate brief that Benson \u201cseeks to evade scrutiny by relying on something labeled a \u2018program\u2019 to remove deceased registrants, no matter how ineffective\u201d it may be at ensuring accurate voter rolls. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIndeed, if there was a textbook dispute of material fact under [the NVRA\u2019s] list maintenance obligations, this is it. Yet the district court granted summary judgment to the Secretary,\u201d the appeal reads. \u201cSection 8\u2019s reasonableness requirement does not ask if a state list maintenance program exists, but how it is performing. The proof should be in the pudding, and Michigan\u2019s defense that it has a program, no matter how shoddy, is not what Congress intended or enacted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PILF requested the circuit court to reverse Beckering\u2019s decision and rule that Benson \u201cviolated the transparency obligations of Section 8.\u201d The legal group also asked the 6th Circuit to reverse the lower court\u2019s denials of discovery \u2014 namely, depositions from Benson, her employee, and ERIC \u2014 \u201cso the complete picture and truth about the Secretary\u2019s list maintenance programs can be ascertained.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PILF\u2019s appeal was filed on the same day the Republican National Committee (RNC) announced it had sent a <a href=\"https:\/\/prod-static.gop.com\/media\/documents\/Letter_re_Permanent_Mail_Ballot_List_05.23.24_1716565800.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter<\/a> to Benson <a href=\"https:\/\/gop.com\/press-release\/rnc-pressures-michigan-to-update-illegal-mail-ballot-lists\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">demanding<\/a> she clean Michigan\u2019s \u201cinaccurate and outdated\u201d permanent mail ballot list, as required by state law. The RNC contended that there are nearly 92,000 inactive voters on this list and that Benson\u2019s Election Officials\u2019 Manual \u201cmisstates the legal requirement\u201d that such voters must be removed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause these 91,928 inactive voters have not been removed from the permanent mail ballot list, they \u2018must be issued an absent voter ballot\u2019 even though they have moved to a different municipality or even a different state or are otherwise inactive,\u201d the letter reads. \u201cTens of thousands of absentee ballots will thus be sent to voters at addresses where they no longer reside or to voters who are otherwise ineligible to receive them, creating the potential for thousands of absentee ballots to be cast fraudulently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The RNC asked Benson to respond to its inquiry by June 6 explaining how her office \u201cwill bring its guidance and practices into compliance with Michigan law regarding removal from the permanent mail ballot list.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A conservative legal group challenged a court ruling blocking its bid to remove 26,000 deceased residents from Michigan&#8217;s voter rolls. Simultaneously, the RNC accused Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson of neglecting 92,000 inactive registrants on the mail ballot list. An appellate brief was filed on the same day<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2255242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/pexels-photo-5926256.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2255241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/pexels-photo-5926256.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2255241","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\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2255241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2255241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2255242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2255241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2255241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2255241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}