A judge ruled Wednesday that Michigan’s Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s guidance telling election officials to presume the validity of absentee ballot signatures is unconstitutional.
During the 2020 election, Benson sent out guidance to election officials “that included a presumption of validity for voters’ signatures on absentee-ballot applications and absentee ballots processed at the local level,” the ruling from Court of Claims Judge Christopher Yates explains.
The Michigan Republican Party and the Allegan County clerk initially challenged the presumption of validity provision, and the Court of Claims “determined that the guidance was impermissible.” In response to the ruling, the Michigan Department of State created new guidance for signature matching that included a provision requiring officials to presume that the signature being reviewed is valid. Yates, in his ruling, noted that there was a “strong” negative response to this particular provision during a public comment period, and the state agreed on striking the language.
The language nonetheless made it in the final version, “perhaps due to an oversight,” according to Yates’ ruling.
Benson then issued guidance in December of 2023 on how to conduct signature verification for absentee ballot applications and envelopes. The guidance, in part, states “[v]oter signatures are entitled to an initial presumption of validity.” The Michigan Republican Party, alongside the Republican National Committee (RNC) and other plaintiffs, sued the state and the Director of Elections arguing the guidance was “impermissible,” once again due to the presumption of validity provision. Yates ruled in agreement.
The court found that
