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House Republicans are putting the squeeze on Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in their ongoing feud over election materials that brings into play legislative prerogatives versus executive authority.
The newest twist is the House complaint filed this week in the Michigan Court of Claims to compel Benson to comply with a legislative subpoena.
Not that this is a surprise. The level of trust between the House GOP majority and the Democratic Secretary of State hovers somewhere around non-existent.
The GOP-controlled House voted along party lines last month to hold Benson in civil contempt, which cleared the way for the lawsuit alleging “irrational and even conspiratorial objections” to keep those materials from the House Oversight Committee and the House Election Integrity Committee.
“The Secretary of State just does not want to abide by the constitution or the law, period,” House Oversight Committee Chair Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay) told Rick. “She just does not want to, and now here we are in court.”
Benson says she is resisting because some of the information being sought, if made public, could help bad actors tamper with election equipment, interfere with ballot chain of custody, or impersonate election clerks. A spokesperson for Benson points out that she has asked for some type of judicial mediation to come to terms with Republicans. She says Benson considers this lawsuit essentially the same result.
"While we are committed to transparency, we will never compromise our duty to ensure Michigan’s elections are safe and secure,” Department of State spokesperson Cheri Hardmon said in an emailed statement. “We look forward to working with a judge to come to a resolution that will resolve this dispute.”
Interestingly, the case was initially assigned to Court of Claims Judge Brock Swartzle, who would have certainly brought some perspective on the prerogatives in play. Swartzle was the chief of staff and House legal counsel under Republican House Speaker Kevin Cotter before he was appointed to the Michigan Court of Appeals (which includes the Court of Claims) in 2017 by Governor Rick Snyder. He also made an unsuccessful run for the Michigan Supreme Court in 2020 as a nominee of the Republican Party.
As the former House majority legal counsel, Swartzle has literal working knowledge of the parameters of legislative power. Swartzle, however, filed a motion Friday removing himself from the case. It would have been fascinating to watch the interplay of his history and experience with the facts and legal questions that are argued here. But recusing himself was certainly the right move.
A new judge was assigned to the case using the same random draw system (sans Swartzle) that landed the case on his bench. That judge is Sima Patel. Patel was initially appointed to the bench by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2021, so her connections lean more toward the Democratic side of the aisle.
She also has experience with a controversy over GOP management of the state House. She was the Court of Claims judge who ruled in February that the House under Speaker Matt Hall unconstitutionally held onto bills that were adopted in the previous session instead of allowing them to go to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s desk to be signed or vetoed. But Patel declined to back her decision with a court order instructing the House to move the bills from the House clerk’s office, where they remain languishing. Patel did not want to issue an order from the judicial branch telling the legislative branch how to conduct its business.
Meantime, a group of House Republicans carried the grudge further this week by introducing articles of impeachment against Benson that allege “crimes and misdemeanors” and “corrupt conduct in office.” Specifically, Representative James DeSana (R-Carleton) and his co-sponsors say Benson’s allegedly unconstitutional and illegal acts include banning the open carry of guns at polling locations, keeping improper voting records, and making threats against local canvassers who refused to certify elections.
It’s not clear if the House GOP leadership is on board, especially since the decision following an impeachment trial in the House would be made by the Senate, which has a Democratic majority.
It’s worth mentioning, too, that Benson is running for the Democratic nomination for governor. Standing up against a Javert-like pursuit might be a pleasing storyline to Democratic primary voters.
Dig deeper:
- April 18th: GOP-led House committee targets Dem Jocelyn Benson over SOS election materials
- May 23rd: State House Republicans continue to go after Benson with new resolution to hold the SOS in contempt
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Have questions about Michigan politics? Or, just want to let us know what you want more of (less of?) in the newsletter? We always want to hear from you! Shoot us an email at politics@michiganpublic.org!
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The DeVos political machine is back after announcing that they are publicly reengaging in Michigan politics. On this week’s It’s Just Politics: what to expect from the DeVos family ahead of Election 2026.
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What we’re talking about at the dinner table
No more DOGE-bro? Who will House Speaker Matt Hall channel following the messy, messy Trump-Musk breakup that keeps spiraling in unexpected directions? Hall has been Lansing’s leading DOGE-bro since becoming House leader the same month of Trump’s inauguration. In fact, Hall’s been using the term BOGE to describe how he intends to preside over cuts to the state budget. The “B” comes from Bollin, as in House Appropriations Chair Ann Bollin. “You know, Bollin-DOGE,” said Hall when he unveiled the idea. She’s been given the lead in Hall’s BOGE project (which threatens to drag adopting a state budget past the statutory July 1st deadline). After this week, will they want a new acronym?
Deadline? What deadline? To borrow a phrase from “Pirates of the Caribbean,” maybe that July 1st deadline “is more like guidelines than actual rules.” Especially since the consequences for missing the deadline don’t fall on the Legislature. “I’m not very optimistic we’re going to get it done,” said state Senator Sam Singh (D-East Lansing), who is also the Senate Majority Floor Leader, at this week’s It’s Just Politics Issues and Ale event in Lansing. Senator John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs) called it “downright discouraging.” Setting July 1st as the get-’er-done date was a very welcome innovation when it was adopted. That’s because the state’s fiscal year begins October 1st, which doesn’t align with the July 1st fiscal year start for school districts, public universities, community colleges and local governments. (We’ll explain why and give a little history lesson in a future newsletter.) Getting a budget in place by July 1st creates certainty for those public entities and helps with decisions like setting tuition rates. “Timing is important,” said Representative Mark Tisdel (R-Rochsester Hills). “It’s also important to get the budget right.” But he added, “I would hope by July 1st we would at least have a school budget out there.”
Stop us if you’ve heard this one: A duck stops by the state Capitol and says he’s ready for his bill. But, seriously, there is a bill before the Legislature to designate the wood duck (aka aix sponsa) as the official state duck. Michigan already has a cool dozen state symbols including the state bird (robin), flower (sweet crabapple), soil type (Kalkaska sand) and native grain (Michigan wild rice). The duck bill’s primary sponsor is Representative Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) and the bill is assigned to the House Government Operations Committee. We’re launching an investigation into whether Farhat’s in the pocket of a middle school class doing a how-a-bill-becomes-a-law project.
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Yours in political nerdiness,
Rick Pluta & Zoe Clark
Co-hosts, It’s Just Politics
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IJP on the Road:
Zoe and Rick hosted the latest It’s Just Politics Issues and Ale from Lansing this week. They were joined by a bipartisan panel of state Representatives and Senators to talk about what’s being passed (or not) at the state Capitol. We got a fun listener email after the event yesterday who said, “thank you, thank you, thank you! I find that I get so much out of these Issues and Ale events… It’s better than therapy!” You can watch the event below:
