A Michigan Court of Claims judge dismissed Wednesday a suit challenging Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s decision to mail absentee ballot applications to every registered voter in Michigan ahead of the August and November elections.
The court in June had denied a preliminary injunction seeking an immediate stay on the mailing. But Benson asked the court to dismiss the case, a request the court granted Wednesday.
As the state’s chief election officer, Benson has the authority that outranks “those local election officials over whom she has supervisory control” and thus was able legally to send the applications where no such request had been made, Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens said.
“Given the ubiquitous attention paid to the importance of social distancing and limiting large gatherings, particularly indoor gatherings, the notion that it would be ‘advisable’ to inform this state’s electorate of its constitutional right to vote by absentee ballot, as opposed to in-person voting, cannot reasonably be disputed,” wrote Stephens, an appointee for Democratic former Gov. Jennifer Granholm.