A federal judge on April 10 rejected a Republican-backed lawsuit targeting Michigan election laws approved in recent years.
District Judge Jane Beckering, a Biden-nominated judge, wrote that the plaintiffs—11 Republican state lawmakers—were not able to prove they were injured by the laws. The lawmakers had sued Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state election officials, saying that 2022 voter-initiated changes to voting laws should be declared invalid because only the state Legislature should be able to regulate them.
The legislators, Judge Beckering noted, “have not met their burden at the pleading stage to demonstrate injury-in-fact and have concomitantly failed to demonstrate ... standing.”
The lawmakers targeted two ballot initiatives that allowed for universal absentee ballots and universal early voting, along with other changes. The two ballot initiatives brought no-reason absentee voting, in-person early voting, and other election changes to Michigan, and both were supported by a wide majority of voters.
The lawmakers argued that the U.S. Constitution’s Elections Clause allows for legislatures to regulate the places, times, and manner to hold federal elections and argued that the ballots infringed on the legislature’s rights to regulate elections.
After the ruling, state Sen. Jim Runestad, a Republican, said the group and their lawyers who brought the lawsuit were not surprised by the federal judge’s order on April 10. He said the order is “off base” and that they plan to appeal so that the case can affect the November 2024 elections.
Democratic state officials, including Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, had argued that the legislators did not have standing to bring their challenge. She hailed the judge’s ruling.
Separate Lawsuit Filed
After the 2020 election, Republicans asserted that there were enough irregularities in Michigan, a key battleground state, to have swung it away from former President Donald Trump.About a month ago, the Republican National Committee sued Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, to trim down the state’s voter rolls. The suit argued that the state is violating a federal voting law that mandates that officials maintain clean registration rolls.
“Let’s call this what it is: a PR campaign masquerading as a meritless lawsuit filled with baseless accusations that seek to diminish people’s faith in the security of our elections. Shame on anyone who abuses the legal process to sow seeds of doubt in our democracy,” she said.
Polls have suggested that, as in previous elections, Michigan will be a pivotal state in deciding who will become the next president. A survey released in March by Quinnipiac University shows President Trump leading President Joe Biden by about 5 percentage points in the state in a five-way race that includes several third-party candidates.In a head-to-head matchup, the former president would get 48 percent support, compared with President Biden’s 45 percent support, according to the poll.