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DEFENDING OUR DEMOCRACY

You have a right to vote in fair and honest elections, but that right is under siege. Well-funded organizations are working around the clock to get courts to strike down the reasonable and commonsense laws that keep voting from becoming a free-for-all. Most voters want free and secure elections, but your voices are drowned out by partisan activists with their own agendas. It’s time for that to stop. The Honest Elections Project is supporting courtroom fights across the nation, with one overriding goal: to defend your right to fair elections.

MICHIGAN

Ballot Receipt Deadline

Johnson v. Benson

This is a challenge to an attempt by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to count ballots that arrive up to two weeks late, in violation of the law and the U.S. Constitution. Benson’s actions usurp the power of the state legislature, which has the constitutional authority to regulate the “Manner” of elections. Michigan law requires absentee ballots to arrive by 8:00pm on Election Day to be valid. More than half the states have similar laws. The two-week extension, brought about by politicized litigation, will clearly lead to the counting of ballots that are invalid under state law, harming all voters in the state. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to forbidding Secretary Benson from counting or authorizing the counting of unlawful ballots, and the restoration of the state’s lawful ballot deadline.

Voter Roll Maintenance

Daunt v. Benson

This is a challenge brought under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), alleging that Michigan is failing to properly maintain its voter rolls as required by federal law. A comparison of Michigan voter rolls with U.S. Census Bureau estimates of Michigan’s citizen voting-age population revealed counties with abnormally high voter registration rates. Rates above 90% or 100% are red flags that Michigan is not properly identifying and removing outdated registrations. That assertion was backed up when Secretary Benson opted to mail an absentee ballot application to every registered voter, and at least 500,000 were returned undeliverable. The lawsuit seeks an order barring Secretary Benson from violating the list maintenance provisions of the NVRA, and requiring her to implement reasonable and effective list maintenance programs.

MINNESOTA

Ballot Receipt Deadline

Carson v. Simon

This is a challenge to a consent decree agreed to by Secretary of State Steve Simon, in which he agrees to count ballots that arrive up to one week after Election Day, with or without postmarks, in violation of the law and the U.S. Constitution. Simon’s actions usurp the power of the state legislature, which has the constitutional authority to regulate the “Manner” of elections. Minnesota law requires absentee ballots to arrive by 8:00pm on Election Day to be valid. More than half the states have similar laws. The one-week extension, brought about by politicized litigation, risks abuse and fraud, since it will lead to the counting of unlawful ballots that may even have been cast after Election Day. That harms all voters in the state. The lawsuit seeks an injunction forbidding Secretary Simon from counting or authorizing the counting of unlawful ballots, and the restoration of the state’s lawful ballot deadline.