The Republican National Committee is threatening to sue Michigan election officials over proposed rule changes to the state’s election recount process.
The new rules would limit recounts to cases when the number of challenged ballots could sway the outcome of an election.
Current law broadly allows campaigns to ask for a recount if they believe fraud or mistakes affected their chance of winning.
In a recent letter to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, RNC Election Integrity Counsel Luke Bunting argued the proposed administrative rules went against the law by cutting back on what a state elections board could or couldn’t do when it comes to considering a recount.
“Michigan Election Law does not authorize boards of canvassers to disregard challenges because they are deemed to be frivolous. Nor does the Election Law require challenges to be related to the tabulation of a specific, individual ballot,” the letter read.
Many of the proposed rule changes reflect a new law that also concerns the recount process. That new law is likely to take effect next year, and while it removes the word "fraud" from the statute, it would still allow recounts based on allegations of fraud, as long as the number of challenged votes exceeds the margin of victory for the winning candidate or ballot measure.
The law passed along party lines in the state Legislature, with only Democrats voting in favor of it. But the proposed rules received full support from the Board of State Canvassers, which includes two Republicans and two Democrats.
At a July meeting, the board authorized the Bureau of Elections to act on its behalf in advancing the rule proposals to the final step in Michigan’s administrative rulemaking process.
In its response to the RNC letter, the Michigan Department of State said the rulemaking process is still ongoing.
“Any comments about the substance of the rules can be submitted as part of the standard rulemaking process. Concerns or opinions about proposed rules are addressed through that process, not through external correspondence,” department spokesperson Angela Benander said in a written statement.
The final phase of the rulemaking process is a review from the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, a legislative panel made up of lawmakers from both the state House of Representatives, and the Senate.
If the committee forgoes its review period, the rules could potentially take effect before the November general election -- though state law ultimately trumps any administrative rules created by a department.
Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) sits on the administrative rules committee. He said he believes the proposed rules are an end-run around the waiting period for the new law to take effect.
“It’s going to get past the election. That’s all they care about. I think it will, in all likelihood, it will get reversed, but they don’t care,” Runestad said.
Runestad said he believes a lawsuit from the RNC would likely come if and once the rules pass JCAR. But it’s unclear how far it may get or what action a court would take ahead of the November election.
