The U.S. Department of Justice is threatening a criminal investigation into Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson regarding Michigan’s voter rolls.
The DOJ sent a letter to Benson on Tuesday, signed by U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, informing Benson that if Michigan failed to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls, she would be in violation of federal law.
“Any election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens on the state’s SVRL or facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability. An intentional act that is aimed at diluting the votes of citizens could also constitute a violation,” Dhillon wrote. “We encourage you to contact us to discuss what steps your state should take to maintain clean voters lists as required by law.”
The letter follows a Court of Appeals decision last month that ruled Michigan and 30 other states did not have to turn over their unredacted voter rolls to the Department of Justice. Earlier this week, the DOJ announced it would deploy election monitors to three cities in Michigan, including Lansing, East Lansing and Detroit.
If the Department of Justice needs assistance addressing any confusion regarding how Michigan handles its voter list maintenance, the Department of State is willing to provide support, said Angela Benander, chief communications officer for Benson.
“Michigan has one of the most effective voter list maintenance processes in the nation, going above and beyond the NVRA standard,” she said in a statement. “We’ve also been clear that we have to do this work carefully, in accordance with state and federal law, to ensure no voter is disenfranchised.”
Benander highlighted the Department of State has been transparent with the DOJ about its work to ensure only eligible citizens can vote, noting responses to DOJ’s previous inquires, congressional testimony, testimony and evidence in federal court, public statements and detailed information that is publicly available on Michigan’s Department of State website.
