Michigan House GOP leaders decry proposed recount rule change as ‘blatant end-run’

Election Integrity Force recount location in Grand Rapids on December 13, 2022 | Allison R. Donahue

Michigan House Republicans are calling out what they say is an “attempted end-run” around state election law ahead of the November general election.

House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) on Friday sent a letter to Jonathan Brater, the director of the Michigan Bureau of Elections, denouncing proposed administrative rules on election recount procedures the Michigan Department of State (MDOS) recently submitted to the Joint Committee on Administration Rules.

“The pending rules contradict current law, yet the secretary of state wants to implement these illegal rules immediately, putting a heavy thumb on the scale ahead of the November election. The proposed rules attempt a blatant end-run around recount laws that promote election integrity and protect against fraud,” said Hall in the letter.

At issue are provisions included in Senate Bill 603 , which was signed into law in early July by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. It would allow recounts of precincts that have a mismatch between the number of ballots and the ballots issued to voters recorded in a polling place’s log or the ballots that were tabulated. It also updates the filing fee for recounts to better account for the costs involved and clarifies that county canvassers don’t have the authority to investigate voter fraud, leaving the authority to law enforcement.

Because the bill won’t take effect until 91 days after the 2024 legislative session adjourns, that would push the effective date into early 2025, well after the November’s election.

On July 31, the MDOS requested that the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules waive the 15-session-day review period so the rules could take effect immediately, noting that a mandatory public hearing was held on June 17 , prior to the bill’s passage, to which no members of the public attended. Additionally, only one written comment was received during a 48-day open comment period, with that suggestion incorporated into the proposed recount rules amendments.

That was followed by approval of the rules July 19 by Michigan’s bipartisan Board of State Canvassers, after the bill was signed into law.

“ Given the need to align the recount rules with current law and practice before the November 2024 election and the summer session schedule, the Board of State Canvassers respectfully asks that the committee waive the balance of the session days in the review period,” stated the letter from MDOS Regulatory Affairs Officer Doug Novak.

Regardless, Hall described the process as being orchestrated by “government officials with a grudge who make up the rules as they go,” saying that Benson was “putting her thumb on the scale,” and that the request “opens cracks in our election system that bad actors can exploit to undermine election integrity.”

When asked to comment, Benson spokesperson Angela Benander told the Michigan Advance that as the rulemaking process is ongoing, “the comments Rep. Hall has submitted will be addressed through that standard process.”

Also criticizing the proposed rules was state Rep. Ann Bollin (R-Brighton), a former township clerk. In a separate letter to Brater, Bollin said local clerks already shouldering an “immense burden” are now facing the added stress of guidance from the Secretary of State that she says “directly contradicts” the law.

“The proposed rules sidestep the existing law, forcing clerks into a position where they must choose between following current legal requirements or adhering to your new guidelines. This is an unfair and untenable situation, especially with a major election on the horizon. Clerks should not be placed in a position where they must second-guess the law they are sworn to follow,” said Bollin.

However, state Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), who sponsored the legislation that spawned the proposed rule change called it “c ommon-sense recount law reforms” that ensured any recount resulted in the most accurate count of the ballots possible.

“Too many close races in the past led to precincts that were not able to be recounted due to our outdated law, and today we close those gaps,” said Chang. “These laws achieve critical goals of protecting the security of every vote, modernizing our recount process, and uplifting the voices of Michigan voters.”

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