{"id":2283424,"date":"2024-06-25T16:26:28","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T20:26:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/election-integrity-win-judge-kills-dems-absentee-ballot-plot-in-mi\/"},"modified":"2024-06-25T16:37:45","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T20:37:45","slug":"election-integrity-win-judge-kills-dems-absentee-ballot-plot-in-mi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/election-integrity-win-judge-kills-dems-absentee-ballot-plot-in-mi\/","title":{"rendered":"Election Integrity Win: Judge Kills Dems&#8217; Absentee Ballot Plot in MI"},"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%2Felection-integrity-win-judge-kills-dems-absentee-ballot-plot-in-mi%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=2283424&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>The article\u2064 discusses ongoing debates over election integrity in the United States, highlighted \u2063by a recent ruling in Michigan where a judge deemed a specific electoral procedure, \u2062mandated by Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson regarding the presumption of validity for absentee ballot \u200dsignatures, unconstitutional. This decision supports claims that questioning the restructuring of election protocols, particularly those broadened during the\u200b COVID-19 pandemic, does not necessarily constitute conspiracy\u2064 theorizing.<\/p>\n<p>Court of Claims\u200c Judge Christopher Yates, who is noted as a moderate\u200b without strong\u200d partisan leanings despite being appointed by Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, invalidated the guidance that absentee\u200b ballot signatures should automatically be presumed authentic. This judgment aligns with earlier \u2062legal scrutiny from \u2063Michigan\u200d courts on\u2063 similar election\u200d guideline issues.<\/p>\n<p>Following\u2062 this decision, Michigan Republicans, represented by GOP Chairman Pete Hoekstra, expressed their commitment to upholding election laws to ensure the\u200b integrity and confidence in the voting process, especially\u200d ahead of \u200cthe pivotal 2024 presidential \u2063election. This stance \u2062reflects broader actions \u200cby Republicans in various states questioning or litigating against 2020&#8217;s election \u200dprocedures.<\/p>\n<p>The content\u2064 draws a sharp contrast between the claimed objectivity of the source as aimed at\u200d truth-telling in\u200d political journalism, pitted against mainstream media and Big Tech,\u200c whom \u2062they accuse of\u2064 suppressing conservative viewpoints. The piece concludes with an appeal to readers\u2064 to support their platform to continue their coverage and\u200b fight for what they view as honest reporting.  <\/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<header> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/commentary\/\">  Commentary <\/a>   <span> <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/maustin\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<p> <span>   By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/maustin\/%20\"><span>Michael Austin<\/span><\/a> <\/span> <span>   June 25, 2024 at 12:11pm <\/span> <\/span>  <\/header>\n<section>\n<p>Since the 2020 election, the messaging around this country\u2019s election integrity has remained consistent.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats and media elites (a redundant way of putting it, I know) continue to say what they\u2019ve always said: That the vast, pandemic-related restructuring of American election protocols in 2020 and beyond was safe and secure and that anyone who questions it \u2014 in <em>any<\/em> way \u2014 is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/they-defy-the-effects-of-earths-gravity-as-ufos-go-mainstream-the-government-searches-for-answers\/\" title=\"UFOs challenge gravity, gain mainstream attention, and prompt government investigation.\">crazed conspiracy theorist<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Well, that narrative took yet another major hit this month when a Michigan judge ruled that one such procedure \u2014 implemented in the Wolverine state in December 2023 \u2014 is unconstitutional and illegal, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2024\/06\/13\/michigan-judge-axes-presumption-of-validity-rule-for-absentee-voter-ballot-signatures-jocelyn-benson\/74083667007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Detroit News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The ruling, handed down by Court of Claims Judge Christopher Yates, blasted guidance from Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson telling election officials to assume all absentee ballot signatures were authentic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur constitution calls for a signature comparison without making a presumption for or against validity,\u201d Yates wrote in the June 12 ruling, according to The Detroit News.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSimilarly, the language in Michigan statutes precludes the application of a presumption of validity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The issue of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/3-michigan-women-charged-with-felony-voter-fraud-in-2020-election-huge-scheme-uncovered\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">absentee ballots<\/a> and their authenticity was one of the biggest voter fraud claims when it came to the 2020 election.<\/p>\n<p>The so-called crazed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-hispanic-voters-in-florida-who-fled-dictatorships-think-the-election-was-stolen-from-trump\/\" title=\"REPORT: Hispanic Voters In Florida Who Fled Dictatorships Think The Election Was Stolen From Trump\">conspiracy theorists<\/a> on the right were concerned that newly implemented lax procedures similar to this post-election rule opened up the voting system to all sorts of vulnerabilities, and that any changes needed to be thought through in accordance with existing laws.<\/p>\n<p>Now, it\u2019s not the conspiracy theorists saying that. It\u2019s a sitting appeals court judge.<\/p>\n<div id=\"firefly-poll-container\">\n<p>Do you expect Democrats to cheat in the November election?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This ruling wasn\u2019t merely an example of a partisan maneuver, mind you.<\/p>\n<p>Yates is by no means a right-wing stalwart \u2014 the judge <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Christopher_P._Yates_(Michigan)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">was appointed<\/a> to the 3rd District Court of Appeals by none other than far-left <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/go-jail-hurting-someones-feelings-gretchen-whitmers-michigan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Michigan Republicans have been fighting Benson and her unconstitutional election procedures for more than three years now.<\/p>\n<p>Though some Republicans across the country leave much to be desired when it comes to their work with election integrity, those in Michigan certainly deserve credit for their hard work.<\/p>\n<p>As reported by The Detroit News, this is the second dispute over election procedures that fell conservatives\u2019 way.<\/p>\n<p>In March 2021, another judge on the Court of Claims, a statewide court that handles claims against the state government, determined that Benson\u2019s previous guidance guidance on signature verification \u2014 a guidance that was in place for the 2020 election \u2014 had not gone through the \u201cproper rulemaking procedures,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2021\/03\/15\/judge-rules-secretary-state-bensons-ballot-signature-verification-guidance-invalid\/4699927001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">newspaper reported<\/a> at the time.<\/p>\n<p>According to The Detroit News, Republicans celebrated the win then, but \u201cnoted it came too late to make a difference in the November election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s certainly encouraging to see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ted-cruz-puts-trumps-tax-idea-bill-form-quickly-gets-support-fellow-republicans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Republicans<\/a> taking these things seriously \u2014 and getting election procedure disputes resolved \u2014 ahead of this year\u2019s presidential election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMichigan is crucial to the pathway to victory in November,\u201d Michigan Republican Party Chairman Pete Hoekstra said, according to The Detroit News.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must protect and enforce all our election laws to maintain confidence in our system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/06\/20\/us-news\/michigan-republicans-democrats-ruling-ballot-election-vote\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Post<\/a> noted last week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/election-watchdog-sues-to-stop-acceptance-of-ballots-after-election-day\/\" title=\"Election watchdog sues to halt post-election ballot acceptance.\">similar legal battles<\/a> over 2020 election procedures are currently going on in several other states.<\/p>\n<p>Should more continue to fall Republicans\u2019 way, an already obvious fact will continue to become even more undeniable.<\/p>\n<p>Questioning the current state of election security does not make anyone a crazed conspiracy theorist.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p><b><i>An Important Message from Our Staff:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span>In just a few months, the world is going to change forever. The 2024 election is the single most important election of our lifetime. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We here at The Western Journal are committed to covering it in a way the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/caitlin-clark-lands-historic-nike-shoe-deal-worth-millions-just-before-her-rookie-season-kicks-off\/\" title=\"Caitlin Clark Secures Multi-Million Dollar Nike Deal Ahead of Rookie Season Kickoff\">establishment media simply<\/a> will not: We will tell the truth, and they will lie.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>But Big Tech and the elites don\u2019t want the truth out. That\u2019s why they have cut us off from 90% of advertisers. Imagine if someone cut your monthly income by 90%. That\u2019s what they\u2019ve done to people like us. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>As a staff, we are asking you to <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>join us<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  to fight this once-in<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-forced-to-cancel-rally-devastated-by-whats-coming-im-so-sorry-god-be-with-you\/\" title=\"Trump expresses deep regret and cancels rally, sending heartfelt apologies and prayers\">-a-lifetime fight<\/a>. Without you not only will The Western Journal fail, but America will fail also. As Benjamin Franklin said, \u201cWe must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Will you support The Western Journal today and <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>become a member<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>A Western Journal <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>Membership<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  costs less than one coffee and breakfast sandwich each month, and it gets you access to ALL of our content \u2014 news, commentary, and premium articles. You\u2019ll experience a radically reduced number of ads, and most importantly you will be vitally supporting the fight for America\u2019s soul in 2024.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>This is the time. America will live or die based on what happens this year. Please <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>join us<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  to get the real truth out and to fight the elites, Big Tech, and the people who want America to fail. Together, we really can save the country.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Thank you for your support!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span>P.S. <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>Please stand with us<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"author-info-45247\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/maustin\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Manager of Writing and Reporting<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><label for=\"summary-tab-radio-45247\">Summary<\/label><label for=\"more-info-tab-radio-45247\">More<span> Biographical Information<\/span><\/label><label for=\"posts-tab-radio-45247\">Recent<span> Posts<\/span><\/label><label for=\"contact-tab-radio-45247\" onclick=\"if( typeof grecaptcha=='undefined' ) { let cap_s=document.createElement( 'script' ); cap_s.src='https:\/\/www.google.com\/recaptcha\/api.js?render=6LeJFcsUAAAAAPsIEqvB1EebWbZfqRUe6ebMpGy7'; document.body.appendChild( cap_s ); }\">Contact<\/label><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Michael wrote for a number of entertainment news outlets before joining The Western Journal in 2020 as a staff reporter. He now manages the writing and reporting teams, overseeing the production of commentary, news and original reporting content.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>  Birthplace <\/p>\n<p>  Ames, Iowa <\/p>\n<p>  Nationality <\/p>\n<p>  American <\/p>\n<p>  Education <\/p>\n<p>  Iowa State University <\/p>\n<p>  Topics of Expertise <\/p>\n<p>  Culture, Faith, Politics, Education, Entertainment <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Commentary by Michael Austin, June 25, 2024. Post-2020, the narrative on U.S. election integrity has stayed the same. Democrats and media, often overlapping, persistently claim that the extensive changes to election protocols during the pandemic have maintained their integrity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2093,"featured_media":2283425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/absentee-ballot-MI-for-june-24-2024.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32692,32644,32691],"class_list":["post-2283424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-absentee-ballots","tag-election-integrity","tag-judge-ruling"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/absentee-ballot-MI-for-june-24-2024.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283424","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\/2093"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2283424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2283425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2283424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2283424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2283424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}