Republicans sue Whitmer, Benson over voter registration agencies

(The Center Square) - Michigan's governor, secretary of state and three other officials are facing a lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign this week over granting some government offices the power to conduct voter registration.

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order in December meant to designate certain state offices, including the Small Business Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs, to act as voter registration agencies.

The governor said this would make it easier for Michiganders to obtain election information and register to vote and provide a much-needed update to the list of Michigan’s voter registration agencies after 30 years.

Following the directive, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson entered into an agreement with the SBA to use its offices across Michigan accordingly. Whitmer designated the VA as a voter registration agency at the time of signing the order.

The RNC alleges these actions violated Michigan law, which grants the authority to designate new voter registration agencies solely to the legislature.

“Gretchen Whitmer is the Governor of Michigan. She is the chief executive officer for the State of Michigan with the duty to execute and enforce the laws as written, not as she wishes them to be,” the suit reads.

While a previous governor, Republican John Engler, issued a directive to authorize more state offices to provide voter registration after the 1993 passage of the National Voter Registration Act, the lawsuit claims this authority was not binding.

Republicans argue that besides illegality, the act undermines election integrity by making it easier for ineligible voters to register and causing confusion over which state agencies can legally offer voter registration services. For these reasons, they added counts of violating the National Voter Registration Act and the Administrative Procedures Act to the suit.

“The federal government should not be using American taxpayers’ dollars to conduct unauthorized voter registration activities,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said. “This is an illegal attempt by Biden, Whitmer, Benson, and the party in power to manipulate our country’s most important election. We are committed to stopping this election integrity violation and securing our elections.”

The plaintiffs seek a court injunction to bar the state from using the new voter registration sites.

Democrats have labeled the suit as a partisan attack on election access.

“It’s unfortunately no surprise that Trump and the MAGA Republican Party are once again attacking our elections and planting distrust in our democratic systems – but this time, they are trying to make it harder for veterans and small business owners to register to vote,” said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes in a statement. “In the face of this ongoing extremism, Michigan Democrats are standing strong against Trump and his allies’ attempts to chip away at the foundation of our democracy.”