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The state’s primary court for suing the government properly dismissed a Republican attempt to disenfranchise the family members of overseas and military voters, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
In a per curiam unpublished opinion, the state’s appellate court affirmed a previous decision of the Michigan Court of Claims in a lawsuit filed by the Michigan Republican Party and the Republican National Committee. The opinion was signed by Judge Philip Mariani, Judge Allie Greenleaf Maldonado and Judge Adrienne Young.
The lawsuit said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Bureau of Elections Director Jonathan Brater issued election guidance that granted voter status to people who didn’t live in Michigan, targeting overseas and military voters’ spouses and adult children.
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The Court of Claims ruled against that argument in October 2024, and said it was an 11th hour Hail Mary attempt by the MIGOP and the RNC to disenfranchise the state’s voters before the upcoming November 2024 general election. It was dismissed by Judge Sima Patel, an appointee of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Patel denied Benson’s request for sanctions, however.
The parties filed in the Court of Appeals, which on Wednesday affirmed the lower court’s decision.
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“This case challenges the breadth of one of the rights foundational to our democracy – the right to vote. But it does so narrowly,” the panel wrote. “First, this case concerns itself with only a select group of voters: individuals who vote in Michigan elections who do not presently live in Michigan. Second, this case is temporally limited, too, focusing exclusively on obtaining relief in advance of the 2024 election, which has since come and gone and been certified.”
Benson praised the ruling in a statement issued Wednesday.
“Last October, just days before Election Day, this baseless lawsuit tried to block votes from U.S. citizens and their families living abroad – including the spouses and children of active-duty military servicemembers,” she said. “Thousands of their votes had already been submitted and were at clerks’ offices waiting to be tallied in accordance with state and federal law. This shameful stunt was the latest pulled by well-funded groups in their ongoing project to create chaos, cast doubt on our secure election procedures, and weaken our democracy.”
Benson added that the court did the right thing by affirming the lower court.
“On this, the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act by President Lyndon Johnson, I will never stop fighting to ensure every eligible citizen can fairly and freely cast their vote,” Benson said. “That’s especially important for members of our military and their families stationed abroad, who make tremendous sacrifices to protect our rights and freedoms. Michigan servicemembers and their families are not pawns to be used in political games.”
