Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson asked the GOP-led House Oversight Committee Wednesday to narrow the scope of legislative subpoenas seeking election-related materials, arguing complying fully and without redactions would require her to break the law as well as jeopardize secure elections.
The 12-page letter from an assistant attorney general representing Benson, a Democrat, outlined concerns, objections and areas where she believed the committee’s demands run afoul of state law and House rules. The oversight committee authorized the subpoenas last month.
“The Secretary of State firmly believes transparency in the administration of Michigan elections is vitally important,” wrote Assistant Attorney General Heather Meingast, chief of the department’s Civil Rights and Elections Division. But she said the biggest concern is election security.
“Releasing material that would reveal security feature information or other sensitive information, jeopardizes the process,” she said. “This is true even if those seeking the information are well-intentioned, because each time sensitive information is released, its potential for intentional or accidental disclosure to those who would misuse it increases.”
She also said the fact that the House Oversight Committee issued the subpoena on behalf of the House Election Integrity Committee “blurs the lines of who potentially has access to that information, making it clear that the House fails to appreciate the sensitive nature of certain of the information requested.”
The letter says the volume of material to be reviewed is so large it would not be completed by the subpoena’s May 13 deadline.
House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) said he was still reviewing the response, but was not satisfied with the reply.
“I think they just try to claim it’s something it’s not to help their position,” he said in his weekly press conference. Although the subpoena is expansive, Hall said the House’s primary interest is in “training manuals” for election workers.
Hall did not share next steps. One option would be to seek a court order to enforce the subpoena if the May 13 deadline is not met.
“We’re going to continue to get the information that we’ve asked for and they’re not providing it, and I think we’ll defeat them in court,” he said, but pointedly declined to say whether he was considering that option. Benson, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, has also said she expects her office would prevail if the question winds up in court.
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