Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and Michigan Director of Elections Jonathan Brater make up their own rules. Judge says no.

Thanks to the folks over at Gateway Pundit.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and Michigan Director of Elections Jonathan Brater make up their own rules. Judge says no.Before the 2022 midterms the Secretary of state decided to make up her own rules at the polling places.

Today, Judge Swarzle offered his opinion. In his opinion, the MI Court of Claims judge wrote that MI SOS Benson and Jonathan Brater “have authority to issue instructional guidance, but they do not have the authority to issue rules with the force and effect of law, apart from those promulgated through notice-and-comment rulemaking. To the extent that defendants have issued an unpromulgated rule in the guise of an “instruction,” they have exceeded their lawful authority under the Michigan Election Law and APA.” 

Below is what the judge ruled.

#1: MI SOS Jocelyn Benson cannot prevent poll challengers from bringing their cell phones into a room where absentee ballots are being counted.

#2. Election workers, by law, must permit and record ANY and ALL objections made by poll challengers related to absentee ballots.

#3. Election poll challengers cannot be told they are unable to address concerns directly with election inspectors or be told they must make challenges or objections related to ballots or the processing of ballots with Jocelyn Benson’s made-up “Challenger Liaisons”

#4. Benson does not have the authority, through her new guidance, to have poll challengers thrown out of the counting facility for asking too many questions.

#5. Election poll challengers can be credentialed on Election Day and are not required to fill out a special form created by the SOS office.

Judge Swarzle ruled that Benson and Brater’s new “guidance” for poll challengers is simply a list of suggestions and that she has no legal authority to change election law or the rules set forth by the MI legislature regarding poll challengers.