Michigan Requires Clerks Record Signature Verification After Suit

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has updated guidance to clerks after the Republican National Committee claimed in a lawsuit that officials counted thousands of improperly processed ballots.

The RNC sued Benson earlier this month, claiming her guidance caused officials to count “thousands” of ballots in the state’s primary without the legally-required markers showing signatures were verified, as The Federalist previously reported. Benson has since updated her guidance to clerks, telling them to indicate signature verification. The RNC said in a press release this was “in response” to its suit.

“The clerk must verify that the signature on a returned absent voter ballot envelope matches the voter’s signature on file,” reads the updated guidance. “Approval can be expressed by completing and initialing the portion of the ‘clerk section’ indicating that the signature was verified.”

Benson’s guidance previously did not tell clerks to mark signature verification before counting ballots. So the RNC, the Michigan Republican Party, and Chesterfield Township Clerk Cindy Berry sued Benson earlier this month claiming this caused officials to count “thousands” of improperly-marked ballots in the Detroit suburb of Warren, as The Federalist previously reported. 

“We are suing to protect absentee ballot safeguards in Michigan which will help make it easy to vote and hard to cheat,” said RNC Chair Michael Whatley at the time.

He celebrated Benson’s recent change to the guidance on X. 

“Great election integrity news out of battleground Michigan. Clerks were counting mail ballots without proof of signature verification, opening the door to fraud. The @GOP sued,” Whatley wrote. “Result? Ballots will now only be counted after proof that signatures are verified — a key win.”

The RNC announced its victory in Michigan at the same time as its victory in North Carolina, where it challenged the use of digital student IDs to vote, according to the latest release.

“Voter ID and signature verification are important safeguards to prevent cheating and fraud,” Whatley said in the release. “These critical election integrity victories will help voters cast their ballots with confidence.”

Whatley said both states can potentially decide November’s election.

The RNC sued Benson in March, claiming there were more registered voters than eligible citizens in the majority of Michigan’s counties, as The Federalist previously reported. The same month, the group sued her again for telling clerks to review absentee ballots with a “presumption of validity.” A judge struck down those guidelines in June. The RNC also claimed in May that Benson did not clean 92,000 inactive registrants from the state voter rolls.

The Federalist reached out to Benson’s office, but its representatives did not respond with comment in time for publication.

For more election news and updates, visit electionbriefing.com.

Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo’s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is originally from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.