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Another GOP-filed lawsuit targeting voting in Michigan has been tossed out of court.
On Tuesday, a federal judge dismissed a suit brought by the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) challenging Michigan’s maintenance of its voter rolls. It followed Monday’s ruling by a Michigan Court of Claims judge that dismissed a GOP lawsuit seeking to tighten qualifications for Americans living overseas to cast ballots in Michigan.
In the most recent case, U.S. District Court Judge Jane Beckering for the Western District of Michigan ruled that neither the RNC nor the other two plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Jordan Jorritsma and Emerson Silvernail, had legal standing to bring their case.
Jorritsma is the legislative director for state Rep. Curt Vandwerwall (R-Ludington), while Silvernail is the legislative director for state Rep. Sarah Lightner (R-Springport).
“Because Plaintiffs’ Complaint fails to sufficiently demonstrate that Jorritsma and Silvernail suffered either a concrete or a particularized injury-in-fact, the Court holds that Plaintiffs have not borne their burden of establishing that the individual Plaintiffs have standing to bring their NVRA (National Voting Rights Act) claim,” said Beckering, who added that the RNC also failed to demonstrate an actual injury.
However, Beckering went even further and said even if the parties had legal standing to bring the case, she still would have dismissed it as it didn’t state a plausible claim.
“Absent Plaintiffs’ legal conclusions and unwarranted factual inferences, which this Court is not required to accept as true, there is no content in Plaintiffs’ Complaint that states a plausible claim under the NVRA,” said Beckering.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson hosting a press conference during the 2024 Mackinac Policy Conference | Kyle Davidson
The RNC lawsuit claimed Michigan election officials violated the NVRA by not properly removing ineligible voters from the Qualified Voting File (QVF). The allegation was based on a comparison of census data with Michigan’s voter file, claiming at least 53 counties had more registered voters than adult citizens.
In their response to the lawsuit, state officials noted that many people on the voting rolls are inactive voters and their names cannot simply be removed as the NVRA mandates certain criteria be met before a name can be taken off the list. That delay, they say, is the reason for discrepancy, adding that Michigan has canceled almost a million registrations since 2019. They also noted that the plaintiffs failed to identify a single voter in any Michigan county who is ineligible to be registered but was still listed as an active voter.
Regardless, the allegations made in the lawsuit resulted in an online back and forth, over the weekend between billionaire and X owner Elon Musk and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who called it “dangerous disinformation.”
Musk is supporting former President Donald Trump, while Benson is backing Vice President Kamala Harris.
In response to Tuesday’s ruling dismissing the lawsuit, Benson reiterated the dangerous nature of the misinformation being spread on the issue.
“False and meritless claims — whether they are posted on social media or in legal filings — won’t stand up in court,” said Benson. “That’s where evidence, the law, and facts rule the day. I’m grateful the federal court today again affirmed our vigorous work to maintain the accuracy of Michigan’s voter rolls in accordance with state and federal law.”
Benson further added that with the election less than two weeks away, her office would continue to serve the people of Michigan by stating facts, following the law, and operating with transparency.
“To those with other interests and agendas, some advice: Next time you’re in a hole, stop digging,” she said.
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