RNC Files Lawsuit Against Detroit Election Commission
Allegations of Insufficient Republican Poll Watchers
The Republican National Committee (RNC) has filed a lawsuit against the Election Commission for the City of Detroit. The lawsuit alleges that the commission did not employ enough Republican poll watchers for the primary election held on August 6 in the state.
According to Michigan's election law, the Board of Elections commissioners must appoint an approximately equal number of election inspectors from each major political party in every precinct.
Discrepancy in Appointment of Election Inspectors
The city reportedly appointed a total of 2,337 Democratic election inspectors and 310 Republican election inspectors for the primary. This information was included in a commission report that the RNC and the Michigan Republican State Committee filed in their complaint on August 21. This appointment ratio indicates a 7.5 to 1 ratio of Democrats to Republicans.
The RNC claims that out of the 335 Wayne County precincts for which data was available, 300 had insufficient numbers of Republican election inspectors. Furthermore, the disparity was even greater in leadership positions, with only 32 of the 335 precincts having chairpersons filled by Republicans.
Violation of State Law
State law stipulates that each precinct must have at least one election inspector from each major party. However, the RNC found that 202 precincts did not appoint a single Republican election inspector.
The complaint also highlights that a list of 675 party-nominated Republicans was submitted to the chair of the commission, City Clerk Janice Winfrey, who is a defendant in the lawsuit. Yet, only 51 of those Republicans reported receiving any communication from a city official about being appointed and were not included on the city’s final list of election inspectors.
Seeking Legal Remedies
The chairs of Wayne County Republican committees are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which was filed in Michigan’s Third District Court. The complaint seeks a court order compelling the election commission to adopt practices to ensure the appointment of an equal number of Republican and Democrat election inspectors in the future.
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-chair Lara Trump stated, “Detroit’s failure to hire Republican poll workers is the kind of bad-faith Democrat interference that drives down faith in elections.” They added that the RNC is bringing suit to remedy this unacceptable breach of public trust, and will continue to fight in Michigan and nationwide to protect the rights of every voter to have fair, accurate, secure, and transparent elections.
Previous RNC Lawsuits
This recent complaint by the RNC in Michigan follows its recent victory in another lawsuit in the state. The committee had sued Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Director of Elections Jonathan Brater in March for recommending that election workers presume the validity of absentee ballot signatures rather than verify them.
State Judge Christopher Yates ruled on June 12 that these recommendations were incompatible with the Constitution and laws of the State of Michigan. A third RNC lawsuit challenging Michigan’s voter roll maintenance is still ongoing.
The RNC has filed numerous lawsuits across various battleground states as part of its stated mission to bolster election integrity ahead of the 2024 election.
Bottom Line
The RNC's lawsuit against the City of Detroit Election Commission raises questions about the fairness and transparency of election processes. It highlights the importance of equal representation of major political parties in the appointment of election inspectors. What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you think the RNC's allegations hold merit? Feel free to share this article with your friends and discuss. Don't forget to sign up for the Daily Briefing, which is available every day at 6pm.
