In a big win for Republicans in Michigan, a state judge just ruled against the Democrat Secretary of State and struck down portions of her 2023 ‘election manual’ that deal with guidance for “signature verification of absentee-ballot applications and envelopes”.
In short, SOS Jocelyn Benson wanted local election officials to assume that a signature on an absentee ballot had an “initial presumption of validity”. But the judge ruled that guidance unconstitutional.
The judge also struck down the “initial presumption of validity” clause from the Michigan Admin Code which governs how election officials determine the validity of the same signatures.
Here’s the judge’s full conclusion:
For all the reasons set forth in this opinion, the Court declares that the “initial presumption” of validity in signature verification of absentee-ballot applications and envelopes mandated by the December 2023 guidance manual issued by defendants is incompatible with the Constitution and laws of the State of Michigan. For similar reasons, the Court declares that the catch line referring to an “initial presumption of validity” in R 168.22 is incompatible with the Constitution and laws of the State of Michigan. Accordingly, those provisions must be excised from the guidance manual and the catch line in R 168.22. In contrast, the Court concludes that R 168.24 is permissible under the Michigan Constitution and the law of the State of Michigan in all respects, so the Court shall deny the plaintiffs’ request for declaratory relief with respect to Rule 4. Finally, because the Court has ruled in the plaintiffs’ favor on the merits in addressing the guidance manual, the Court need not consider whether the guidance manual was promulgated in violation of the AP A. The Court hereby invites the plaintiffs to submit a proposed judgment under MCR 2.602(B)(3) memorializing the Court’s rulings and, if appropriate, closing the case.
You can read the full opinion here:
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