MI Court: Michigan Secretary of State’s Absentee Ballot Order Broke Law, Vindicating Trump Claim

[progressive hunter]

A Michigan state judge has just ruled that the Democratic Secretary of State did violate the law when she issued unlawful guidance on how ballot counter should evaluate absentee ballots:

BREITBART – A Michigan judge ruled last week Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) broke state law when she unilaterally issued rules related to absentee balloting, legitimizing a key claim made by the Trump campaign in its legal challenges to the 2020 election.

TRUMP WAS RIGHT: Michigan judge says Dem Secretary of State violated the law on absentee ballots

A Michigan state judge has just ruled that the Democratic Secretary of State did violate the law when she issued unlawful guidance on how ballot counter should evaluate absentee ballots: BREITBART …

therightscoop.com

hers one out of the 5 states that broke the rules,,,

a little to late if you ask me, might explain the resistance from so many for a fair audit and hearings when it could have mattered,,

 

[Oddball]

Judge signals he may unseal Fulton County absentee ballots for fraud investigation - Washington Examiner

A Georgia judge indicated he could move to unseal Fulton County's absentee ballots for an investigation over alleged fraud during the November general election.Voting integrity advocate Garland Favorito filed a lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court alleging fraudulent ballots were cast and...

www.washingtonexaminer.com

 

[theHawk]

“But, but, but, there’s no proof of any election fraud!”

 

[Manonthestreet]

So what's going to happen to her, anything?

 

[LA RAM FAN]

So what's going to happen to her, anything?

excellent question.I cant see anything happening to her.the criminals always get away with crimes and the innocent get punished.

 

[K9Buck]

Don't worry. A higher-ranking judge, friendly to the party, will overrule this judge's ruling.

 

[d0gbreath]

That doesn't mean shit.

 

[CarlinAnnArbor]

These rulings will just keep coming, but it doesnt matter. They stalled long enough to remove President Trump and replace him with a zucchini

 

[excalibur]

Well, this court allowed evidence to be put on the record and here we are.

A Michigan judge ruled last week Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) broke state law when she unilaterally issued rules related to absentee balloting, legitimizing a key claim made by the Trump campaign in its legal challenges to the 2020 election.

Benson issued several unilateral orders during the 2020 election including sending absentee ballot applications to all registered voters. She also issued “guidance” on how to evaluate absentee ballots, a move Michigan Court of Claims Chief Judge Christopher Murray held violated the state’s Administrative Procedures Act.

...

According to the suit, Genetski argued “the presumption contained in the guidance issued by defendant Benson will allow invalid votes to be counted,” but Genetski did not allege “that this guidance caused him to accept a signature that he believed was invalid.”


The court’s opinion concluded:

…nowhere in this state’s election law has the Legislature indicated that signatures are to be presumed valid, nor did the Legislature require that signatures are to be accepted so long as there are any redeeming qualities in the application or return envelope as compared with the signature on file. Policy determinations like the one at issue — which places the thumb on the scale in favor of a signature’s validity — should be made pursuant to properly promulgated rules under the APA or by the Legislature.

Like other progressive secretaries of state, Benson put an aggressive emphasis on voting by absentee ballot in the name of safety amid the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

Over 3.1 million Michigan voters cast an absentee ballot out of a possible 7.7 million voters, WWMT News reported.

...​

MI Judge: Sec. of State's Absentee Ballot Order Broke Law, Vindicating Trump

A Michigan judge ruled last week Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) broke state law when she illegally issued rules.

www.breitbart.com

 

[CarlinAnnArbor]

That doesn't mean shit.

It means the clerk can/must ignore the SOS demands to PRESUME a signature is valid when they have doubts.

Like some of us have been saying all along, the governor, AG, and SOS cannot MAKE LAW -- yet they did

 

[d0gbreath]

It means the clerk can/must ignore the SOS demands to PRESUME a signature is valid when they have doubts.

Like some of us have been saying all along, the governor, AG, and SOS cannot MAKE LAW -- yet they did

Not enough votes to change anything.

 

[progressive hunter]

It means the clerk can/must ignore the SOS demands to PRESUME a signature is valid when they have doubts.

Like some of us have been saying all along, the governor, AG, and SOS cannot MAKE LAW -- yet they did

Not enough votes to change anything.

how would you know that??

 

[d0gbreath]

how would you know that??

I haz brain.

 

[progressive hunter]

how would you know that??

I haz brain.

all humans have brains,, doesnt mean youre right,,

so you dont know and choose to deflect from the reality of the case,,

 

[Justin Richardson]

I live not far from Detroit. Even though, I voted outside Wayne County, most of the voted counted here, were also sent to an undisclosed location somewhere in Detroit. So, I have no clue if there was fraud at all. Many of the sources I checked, said otherwise. Meaning, I don't believe any of the sources stating there wasn't any. Detroit has been known for vote cheaters and vote-fixers (that is what I call them). But according to the wonderful (insert sarcasm) New York Times.... (click n the title for the sources.)

How Claims of Dead Michigan Voters Spread Faster Than the Facts

The Detroit News reported this...

What the affidavits to stop Detroit ballot count claimed, and how they were rebutted

Louder with Crowder

 

[Drop Dead Fred]

This is what happens when a judge is actually willing to take this kind of case, instead of rejecting it on procedural grounds.

I tried to find a more mainstream source, but they seem to be ignoring this one.


MI Judge: Sec. of State's Absentee Ballot Order Broke Law, Vindicating Trump

MI Court: Michigan Secretary of State’s Absentee Ballot Order Broke Law, Vindicating Trump Claim

By Kyle Olson

March 16, 2021

A Michigan judge ruled last week Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) broke state law when she unilaterally issued rules related to absentee balloting, legitimizing a key claim made by the Trump campaign in its legal challenges to the 2020 election.

Benson issued several unilateral orders during the 2020 election including sending absentee ballot applications to all registered voters. She also issued “guidance” on how to evaluate absentee ballots, a move Michigan Court of Claims Chief Judge Christopher Murray held violated the state’s Administrative Procedures Act.

In the guidance, Benson said “slight similarities” in signatures on absentee ballots should lead a counter to decide “in favor of finding that the voter’s signature was valid.”

Murray ruled Benson violated the law “because the guidance issued by the Secretary of State on October 6, 2020, with respect to signature matching standards was issued in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA).”

“I’m glad the court sees Secretary of State Benson’s attempts at lawmaking for what they are — clear violations of her authority,” Michigan state Rep. Matt Hall (R) said in a statement.

“If she wants to make changes like these, she needs to work with the Legislature or properly promulgate them through the laws we have on the books — in this case the Administrative Procedures Act,” he continued.

Murray’s ruling came after Allegan County Clerk Bob Genetski sued Benson and state Director of Elections Jonathan Brater over Benson’s order which Hall described as a “mandatory directive requiring local election officials to apply a presumption of validity to all signatures on absent voter ballots.”

According to the suit, Genetski argued “the presumption contained in the guidance issued by defendant Benson will allow invalid votes to be counted,” but Genetski did not allege “that this guidance caused him to accept a signature that he believed was invalid.”

The court’s opinion concluded:

…nowhere in this state’s election law has the Legislature indicated that signatures are to be presumed valid, nor did the Legislature require that signatures are to be accepted so long as there are any redeeming qualities in the application or return envelope as compared with the signature on file. Policy determinations like the one at issue — which places the thumb on the scale in favor of a signature’s validity — should be made pursuant to properly promulgated rules under the APA or by the Legislature.

Like other progressive secretaries of state, Benson put an aggressive emphasis on voting by absentee ballot in the name of safety amid the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

Over 3.1 million Michigan voters cast an absentee ballot out of a possible 7.7 million voters, WWMT News reported.

In May 2020, Benson used $4.5 million in funds from the CARES Act — the original coronavirus stimulus — to send absentee ballot applications to all voters, according to Breitbart News.

“By mailing applications, we have ensured that no Michigander has to choose between their health and their right to vote,” Benson said according to NBC 25.

“Voting by mail is easy, convenient, safe, and secure, and every voter in Michigan has the right to do it,” she continued.

Hall noted, “The Legislature is an equal branch of government charged with crafting laws. This is not the role of the Secretary of State, and there is a clear process that must be respected.”

Signature validation rules created without the approval of a legislature was one of the issues the Trump campaign and Republicans claimed was done illegally in the 2020 election.

Trump’s campaign and Republicans argued in cases nationwide that Article II of the Constitution requires state legislatures to make the rules governing presidential elections, and state election officials and courts lack the authority to change those rules.

Murray’s ruling undercuts the Democrat narrative that Republican legal challenges to 2020 election procedures were without merit and had therefore all been rejected by the courts. The original suit was filed October 6, 2020 — prior to the presidential election — but was not decided until March 9, 2021.

The case is Genetski v. Benson, No. 20-216-MM in the Court of Claims for the State of Michigan.

 

[Rambunctious]

We have an illegitimate president....will anyone do anything about it?....

 

[Rambunctious]

And Joesie and his pussycrats are wrecking the nation...and he didn't even win....SCOTUS...you are losing all credibility....

 

[colfax_m]

We have an legitimate president

Yes we do.

 

[Coyote]

Judge rules Benson's ballot signature verification guidance 'invalid'

Mar. 15—State Court of Claims Judge Christopher Murray has ruled invalid Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's guidance issued to Michigan clerks in early October that instructed them to presume the accuracy of absentee ballot signatures. Because Benson did not go through the proper rule-making...

news.yahoo.com

The judge didn't rule on whether Benson's directive violated state election law, but did say the directive violated the Administrative Procedures Act, the process that must be followed when an agency creates new rules.

<snip>

Murray rejected a request for additional audits to look at the effect the directive had on the November election.

The Michigan Constitution only speaks to "election results," not to the process by which signatures are matched, and the Constitution leaves the manner by which an audit is conducted to the secretary of state.

"There is no support in the statute for plaintiffs to demand that an audit cover the subject of their choosing or to dictate the manner in which an audit is conducted," Murray wrote.