The Michigan Court of Appeals has tossed out a Republican lawsuit challenging Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s official guidance for many overseas voters.
The lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee, the Michigan Republican Party and a township clerk claimed the guidance would clear the way for former spouses and dependents who have no tangible connection to Michigan to vote in state elections. But the appeals court panel’s decision did not turn on the substance of the guidance, but the fact that the lawsuit was filed less than a month before the November 2024 election and after absentee ballots to overseas voters were in the mail.
“This case challenges the breadth of one of the rights foundational to our democracy—the right to vote. But it does so narrowly. First, this case concerns itself with only a select group of voters: individuals who vote in Michigan elections who do not presently live in Michigan,” read the unsigned opinion. “Second, this case is temporally limited, too, focusing exclusively on obtaining relief in advance of the 2024 election, which has since come and gone and been certified.”