Law Firm Sues Michigan Secretary of State for Leaving 25,000 Dead Registrants on Voter Rolls

The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) filed a lawsuit against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on Wednesday, alleging she failed to remove more than 25,000 potentially deceased registrants from voter rolls after being notified of the issue several times.

The law firm, which is solely dedicated to election integrity, first reportedly notified Benson about the potentially deceased voters in September 2o2o after extensively reviewing and cross referencing state records. According to the lawsuit, PILF was repeatedly met with resistance by the Secretary of State’s office and was even allegedly denied a records request. As a result of Benson’s refusal to change or comply, the firm had to repurchase voter data reports several times over the course of a year to make sure its investigation was up to date. PILF said in the lawsuit:

The Foundation has spent many thousands of dollars reviewing Michigan’s election procedures and documented failures to maintain an accurate and correct voter roll as required by the NVRA [National Voter Registration Act of 1993]. Defendant’s unlawful list maintenance program has forced the Foundation to incur substantial costs comparing Michigan’s voter rolls to the Social Security Death Index, various commercial databases, and other sources in order to identify deceased registrants.

As of August 2021, there were more than 25,975 deceased registrants on Michigan’s voter rolls. Of those 25,975:

• 23,663 registrants have dead for five years or more
• 17,479 registrants have been dead for at least a decade
• 3,956 registrants have been dead for at least 20 years

“For example, the Foundation discovered one registrant who, if alive today, would be 100 years old. She died over two decades ago but remains an active voter on...

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