Michigan House Republican leaders say Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is backing out of her transparency pledge if she refuses to comply with a subpoena. The subpoena sent this week by the GOP chair of the House Oversight Committee demands materials related to elections training and management.
The Democratic Secretary of State is pushing back against the wide-ranging subpoena seeking a variety of materials including manuals, training videos and online resources. Benson said the materials include sensitive information that could jeopardize election security. Her office has already turned over much of the material, but Benson said some will be held back while it is reviewed and sensitive portions redacted.
Representative Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay), who chairs the House Oversight Committee, said the secretary of state doesn’t get to pick and choose what she’ll share.
“They tell us they’re going to thumb their nose at the duly structured organization that has the right to do oversight on government,” he said. “That’s not transparency. That’s called stonewalling.”
DeBoyer appeared alongside House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) at the GOP leader’s weekly news conference.
The House Oversight Committee set a May 14th deadline for the secretary of state to turn over all the requested materials. Benson has said the material must first be vetted and redacted
When asked for a comment Thursday, Benson’s spokesperson referred back to a letter dated April 14 in response to the committee’s request.
“We are resolute in our duty to security and integrity of our collective election systems,” Benson wrote. “Again, as noted in our prior responses, MDOS maintains a secure portal for election clerks which contains sensitive training materials regarding the cyber security and physical security of election systems and election machines. This limited access is critical to ensure the ongoing integrity of our election systems and thereby the integrity of our elections; therefore, read access login credentials will not be provided.”
Benson, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, has said she is prepared to fight the subpoena in court. The committee set a May 14 deadline to fully comply with the subpoena.
