In yet another major victory for election integrity warriors and government transparency, the Michigan Court of Claims just slammed the brakes on the Michigan Bureau of Elections’ blatant attempt to hide how voters actually cast their ballots.
In an Opinion and Order Granting Summary Disposition to Plaintiff, Court of Claims Judge Christopher P. Yates ruled in favor of longtime election integrity advocate Phani Mantravadi, Founder of Check My Vote, in his Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Michigan Bureau of Elections.
The fight was over the Bureau’s sudden decision in March 2024 to begin redacting the all-important “Voting Type” column from the Qualified Voter File (QVF). This column shows whether each voter cast their ballot on Election Day (ED), Early In-Person (EV), or by Absentee ballot (A).
For years, this critical information was publicly available. Then, under Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the Bureau quietly started stripping it out — claiming it was necessary to protect the “secret ballot.”
Judge Christopher Yates, whom Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer appointed to the Michigan Court of Appeals, wasn’t buying Benson’s story about why they need to hide the truth about the type of voting used by each voter in Michigan elections.
The Court ruled that the vast majority of voting-type information must be released to the public under FOIA. The judge made it crystal clear that the Bureau failed to prove any valid FOIA exemption or constitutional reason to blanket-redact this data for every voter in the entire state. He noted that limited redaction might be justified only in extremely rare cases involving very small precincts.
From the ruling:
“The Court agrees with plaintiff that the vast majority of voting-type information should be publicly available because such disclosure will not compromise the constitutional right of electors to cast a secret ballot.”
Judge Yates also rejected the Bureau’s attempt to use the FOIA privacy exemption, pointing out that voting-type information has long been considered public in Michigan and is not “information of a personal nature.”
In 2024, Judge Yates ruled against Jocelyn Benson in another case that was a huge win for election integrity in Michigan.
BREAKING: A Michigan judge just ruled that the Democrat Secretary of State’s election manual issued to local election officials is unconstitutional & against state law. He is also mandating strict signature verification for mail in votes in the upcoming 2024 election
“The Court… pic.twitter.com/mVmq7QA4td
— George (@BehizyTweets) June 13, 2024
On October 6, 2020, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson told local clerks to ignore signature matching on ballot envelopes and presume all absentee ballot signatures were valid unless they differed in “multiple, significant and obvious respects” from the signature on file.
In the lawsuit Republican Party of Michigan v. Benson, Judge Christopher Murray ruled on March 9, 2021, AFTER THE MOST CONTESTED ELECTION IN HISTORY, that Benson’s directive was invalid.
The ruling today, in favor of election integrity hero, Phani Mantravadi, is just one more in a long string of election cases in recent years that courts have ruled against Jocelyn Benson and her office in their aggressive efforts to make Michigan elections less transparent and more secretive at the highest levels — while simultaneously handing over Michigan voters’ confidential information to outside leftist groups and nonprofits.
The Gateway Pundit has been reporting for years on the Michigan Bureau of Elections’ and Jocelyn Benson’s repeated attempts to obscure and control election data. Today, a courageous judge said enough—and we applaud his decision.
This ruling is yet another major blow to the radical left’s efforts to keep voters in the dark.
We salute Phani Mantravadi for his relentless fight for transparency and Judge Christopher P. Yates for standing up for the rule of law and the public’s right to know.
The fight for free, fair, and transparent elections continues — but today was a very, very good day in Michigan.
The post HUGE ELECTION INTEGRITY VICTORY! Gov. Whitmer-Appointed Judge Forces Michigan SOS Jocelyn Benson to Stop Hiding Critical Voting Data from the Public appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.