RNC Lawsuit Demands Michigan Election Clerks Reject Certain Absentee Ballots

The Republican National Committee (RNC) and Michigan Republican Party are again taking aim at Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for not instructing election clerks to reject certain absentee ballots.
Tuesday’s lawsuit is the second state court complaint this month from the RNC over guidance Benson issued to local clerks in February. An earlier complaint alleges Benson’s instruction on signature verification runs afoul of state law.
The latest complaint centers on the numbered, perforated stub attached to absentee ballots and how clerks should process ballots with numbers that don’t match the corresponding number in poll books.
The plaintiffs say the stubs matter because Michigan law requires clerks and election inspectors to “reject absent voter ballots where the stub is missing or the number on the stub does not match the number in the poll book or on the ballot return envelope.”
Poll books are databases of eligible voters that help workers verify a voter’s identity and their ballot. Plaintiffs say Benson’s guidance instructs clerks to process ballots that have a missing stub or a number that doesn’t match the number in the poll book as “challenged” ballots, instead of rejecting them. Benson’s guidance allows for a voter’s challenged ballot to be tabulated, the complaint says.
State law stipulates that an election inspector ensures the number on the ballot stub matches “the number recorded on the poll list,” and verifies “that the ballot delivered by the voter is the same ballot that was issued to the elector.” If the numbers don’t match, the ballot must be marked as rejected.
The lawsuit cites Benson’s February guidance, which says an election inspector “should verify” that the number on the ballot stub agrees with the ballot number recorded” in the pollbook. The guidance also says if the numbers don’t match and “no explanation for the discrepancy can be found, the ballot must be processed as a challenged ballot.”