Judge rejects challenge of Michigan’s ‘reasonable’ process for dead voter removal

Lansing — A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit alleging Michigan wasn’t doing enough to prune dead voters from its registration records, ruling instead that the state has a reasonable process to remove dead voters on a “regular and ongoing basis.”

Federal data shows Michigan is consistently among the most active states when it comes to canceling a voter’s registration after he or she dies — ranking sixth in the nation for the number of registrations canceled for dead voters in the 2016 election cycle, fourth in 2018, fifth in 2020 and fifth in 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Jane Beckering wrote in the ruling.

The state’s multi-layered approach for identifying dead voters and removing them meets and exceeds the “reasonable effort” required under federal election law, Beckering wrote while dismissing the suit brought by the Alexandria, Va.-based Public Interest Legal Foundation.

“After conducting more than nine months of discovery into the many facets of Michigan’s program for the removal of deceased registrants, PILF (Public Interest Legal Foundation) has identified no genuine issue for trial regarding its claim that the program is not reasonable,” Beckering wrote.

Beckering also dismissed complaints from PILF regarding Benson’s production of records the foundation had requested, noting PILF’s initial request was delayed by the 2020 election but eventually was satisfied.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson celebrated the win in a statement Friday, calling the lawsuit a “thinly veiled attempt to undermine voters’ faith in their voice, their vote, and our democracy.”

“Voters should expect more attempts to fool them about our elections to follow this failed effort,” Benson said in the statement. “And they should know we will continue to respond to those attacks with truth, facts, and data to give all citizens confidence that every valid vote, and only valid votes, will be counted in every election.”

In a statement Friday, the Public Interest Legal Foundation said it planned to appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing the case was needed to develop “clarity in the law.”

“This appeal will have national implications for election integrity because keeping the dead on the rolls for decades after death isn’t reasonable,” said J. Christian Adams, the group’s president.

The case dates back to 2020, when the conservative Indianapolis-based election integrity organization began alleging Michigan was not acting quickly enough to remove dead voters from its voter lists. The foundation eventually filed a suit over the issue in November 2021.

Benson’s office rejected the claims, arguing it immediately cancels voter registration when it receives official death confirmation, usually on a weekly basis through the Social Security Administration’s Master Death Index. 

County clerks also forward a list to their city and township clerks at least once a month with the last known address and birth date of individuals who have died in the county, according to past filings in the case. The local clerk then uses that information to cancel the registration of any dead individuals; local clerks also can use other information, such as a death notice in a newspaper or “personal firsthand knowledge,” according to the filings.

Other inactive voters are identified through statewide mailings and then removed in compliance with a waiting period required under federal law. Federal law requires that a suspected inactive voter not be removed from a voting list until or unless they fail to vote in two statewide federal elections. There is no such waiting period for dead voters to be removed from the Qualified Voter File.

Between 2019 and 2023, Michigan cancelled between 400,000 to 450,000 registrations because the voters were dead, Beckering noted in her opinion.

More than 500,000 inactive voters will have their registrations cancelled in 2025, according to Benson’s office.

eleblanc@detroitnews.com