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 that policy, the lawsuit takes aim at guidance Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson offers to election officials on how to handle overseas voting. 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 a suit that the state party brought 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.
Although she dismissed the lawsuit because of the timing issue, Court of Claims Judge Sima Patel also dove into the merits of the case. She noted that 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 residency requirement were invalid. She said that’s similar to how the Michigan Constitution's rule that residents must be 21 years old to vote is superseded by the U.S. Constitution, which sets the voting age at 18.
“Much like the 21-year age requirement, Const 1963, art 2, § 1’s six-month state residency requirement is no longer valid law,” Patel wrote, referencing the section of the state constitution that established the obsolete voting age.
The RNC lawsuit brings up another section in the state constitution — which Patel's opinion did not mention — that says lawmakers may only ease residency requirements for presidential and vice-presidential elections.
In a written statement, Michigan Department of State spokesperson Cheri Hardmon said the policies in question were about voter access.
"As a military spouse, Secretary Benson is fighting to ensure that those who protect our freedoms are able to exercise their fundamental right to vote. While others seek to suppress the votes of active duty servicemembers and their families, Secretary Benson continues to protect and defend voting rights for all eligible Michigan citizens in accordance with longstanding state and federal laws," Hardmon said.
