A new lawsuit from the Republican National Committee has targeted Michigan’s guidance for overseas voters.
At issue is a state law that lets spouses and dependents of Michigan voters living overseas also vote absentee, even if they’ve never lived in Michigan themselves. The spouses and dependents still must be U.S. citizens, accompanying the Michigan overseas voter, and not registered anywhere else.
The RNC claims that violates clauses in the Michigan Constitution that require voters to have "resided" in the state for at least six months, and give lawmakers leeway to decide what residency means.
Beyond just the policy, the lawsuit takes aim at guidance Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson offers to election officials on how to handle the matter. The lawsuit argues that an election manual from Benson goes beyond her authority in how it interpreted the law.
"Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s guidance violates the Michigan Constitution by allowing people who have never resided in this state to register to vote in Michigan elections. The Michigan Constitution and the Election Law are clear—to vote in Michigan, a person needs to reside (or, if living overseas, have last resided) in Michigan,” Michigan Republican Party Chair Jim Runestad said in a written statement.
The RNC lawsuit echoes one the state party launched this past October ahead of the 2024 general election. The Michigan GOP complaint focused more on Benson’s guidance than the law itself.
Both the Michigan Court of Claims and the state Court of Appeals dismissed the case, finding it was filed too close to the general election.
In her opinion, Court of Claims Judge Sima Patel dove into the merits of the case as well as dismissing it outright because of the timing issue. She noted federal courts have overturned time-based residency requirements like Michigan’s since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against them in 1972.
She reasoned, then, that concerns about the state law conflicting with the state constitution’s six-month requirement were invalid. That’s similar to how the Michigan Constitution also mentions that residents must be 21 years old to vote while the U.S. Constitution sets the voting age at 18.
“Much like the 21-year age requirement, Const 1963, art 2, § 1’s six-month state residency requirement is no longer valid law,” Patel wrote, referencing the section of the state constitution that established the obsolete voting age.
Patel’s opinion did not mention another section in the state constitution that argues lawmakers could only ease residency requirements for presidential and vice-presidential elections. The RNC lawsuit brings that up as well.
A spokesperson with the Michigan Department of State did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.
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