Supreme Court Declines to Hear Absentee Ballot Lawsuit

A 6-1 majority of the Michigan Supreme Court today declined to hear the appeal of a Detroit-based activist challenging the legality of Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s decision to mass mail absentee ballot applications to voters during the 2020 election cycle.

In September, a 2-1 majority of the Court of Appeals found Ms. Benson was within her authority to mass mail absentee ballot applications to voters. The Supreme Court majority in Davis v. Secretary of State  found that the question presented should not be reviewed by the court. A separate motion to intervene was also considered moot and denied.

Justice David Viviano wrote a dissenting opinion stating that he would grant leave to hear the case to review whether Ms. Benson indeed had the authority to mail millions of absentee voter apps to those who did not request them.

“The Court of Appeals’ partial dissent examined the statutes at issue and concluded that the Secretary of State’s action exceeded her authority,” Mr. Viviano wrote. “I believe the partial dissent raises a number of issues that this Court should address. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.”