In a hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., asked Democrat Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson if there are dead people on the state’s voter rolls, and she would not answer yes or no.
“Why the hell are deceased people still on your voter rolls?” Murphy asked. “Do you have deceased people on your voter rolls, yes or no?”
“We do everything we can, and just like every other state, to remove — ” Benson said.
“Should a deceased person be on your voter roll?” Murphy insisted.
“No, and that’s why we remove them once we receive information,” Benson replied.
Murphy was one of several legislators who questioned secretaries of state on election integrity during a Committee on House Administration hearing Wednesday morning. His questions to Benson about dead people registered to vote in Michigan brought incomplete, indirect answers.
He brought up a lawsuit by the Public Interest Legal Foundation, which alleged that as of 2021, there were close to 26,000 dead voters on Michigan’s voter rolls. The group claimed Benson did not contest that the dead voters were registered and said she was not taking adequate steps to remove them.
“Why does it take a lawsuit by the Public Interest Legal Foundation to sue you to get those people off the voter rolls?” Murphy asked Benson.
“That lawsuit was dismissed,” Benson replied.
A district judge ruled Benson was performing ongoing list maintenance and tossed out the case, as The Federalist previously reported. But PILF appealed the case to the
