Michigan
RNC Sues Michigan Secretary of State Over Guidelines for Processing Absentee Ballots
The Republican National Committee (RNC) and Michigan Republican Party are suing Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) over what they allege is “incomplete” guidance from her office on how election clerks should verify absentee ballots.
The case marks the RNC’s 16th voting-related lawsuit as Republicans amp up their election litigation ahead of the presidential race. It’s also the RNC’s fifth case in Michigan. This complaint takes issue with Benson’s guidance to election clerks, which she issued in February of 2024 and which plaintiffs say is at odds with Michigan election laws.
Plaintiffs say the document doesn’t inform clerks of all of their requirements under the law, which stipulates that “written or stamped on each absent voter ballot return envelope must be the date” on which the absent voter ballot return envelope was received by the city or township clerk and must also contain “a statement by the city or township clerk that the absent voter ballot is approved for tabulation.”
If a clerk determines the elector’s signature is missing or doesn’t match the signature on file, “the clerk shall reject the absent voter ballot and provide the elector with notice and the opportunity to cure the deficiency.”
Despite this framework, the plaintiffs say, “it appears that local clerks may not be complying with the requirement to mark absent voter ballot envelopes with a statement that the voter’s signature has been verified.”
The complaint cites an alleged instance in which plaintiffs “recently learned that thousands of absent voter ballots were apparently tabulated during the August 6, 2024 primary election in Warren, Michigan, despite the complete absence of a statement by the clerk on the corresponding return envelope that the absent voter ballot is approved for tabulation …”
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in state court seeks a ruling that prevents Benson from implementing her ballot-processing guidance and issuing new guidelines ahead of the Nov. 5 election, and also declares that city and township clerks must comply with procedural rules on ballot-counting that are prescribed in Michigan law. Director of Elections Jonathan Brater is also a defendant.
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said Thursday that Benson’s guidance “will undermine protections for absentee voters, leading to improper handling and counting of absentee ballots.”
The plaintiffs said in the suit that there’s “ample time” for expedited proceedings to resolve the matter before the Nov. 5 election.
Read the lawsuit here.
Read more about the case here.
Michigan
College basketball roundup: No. 6 Michigan hits 90 for sixth time, routs Oakand
Ann Arbor – Olivia Olson had 23 points and No. 6 Michigan rolled past Oakland 97-54 on Sunday.
Syla Swords had 18 points and Brooke Quarles Daniels scored 11. Te’Yala Delfosse and Ashley Sofilkanich had 10 points apiece. Mila Holloway had seven assists to surpass 200 for her career. The Wolverines (10-1) reached the 90-point mark for the sixth time this season.
Michigan scored 29 points off 27 Golden Grizzlies turnovers. Wolverines opponents are averaging 25.8 turnovers per game. The Wolverines also converted 21 offensive rebounds into 31 points and their reserves outscored Oakland’s bench 26-0.
Lianna Baxter led the Golden Grizzlies (3-9), who have lost five straight, with 14 points. Angie Smith had 13 points and eight rebounds and Makenzie Luehring also scored 13.
Olson and Swords combined for 25 first-half points as Michigan built a 54-27 halftime lead.
The Golden Grizzlies committed turnovers on their first three possessions. The Wolverines forced 15 turnovers before the break, converting them into 17 points. They also scored 18 points off 11 offensive rebounds.
Michigan has won nine straight against Oakland.
Michigan
Epstein files reveal ties to Michigan
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Justice Department released thousands of pages on the Epstein files including letters, transcripts and images.
Court documents show that a 13-year-old girl was Epstein’s first known victim. The allegations against him trace back to a summer camp at Interlochen in 1994.
A lawsuit filed in New York in May 2020 accuses Epstein and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell of years of abuse.
The victim, Jane Doe, claims she met the two at Interlochen Arts Camp in 1994, an area about 20 minutes southwest of Traverse City.
The lawsuit outlines Epstein and Maxwell would take her to movies and shopping and eventually started making sexual references.
When she was 14, she visited Mar-a-Lago, where she was introduced to Donald Trump. Records allege Epstein elbowed Trump and asked him in reference to the girl “This is a good one, right?”
Abuse continued to escalate over the next few years. The girl eventually moved to New York. When she was 17, she alleged Epstein raped her and on multiple occasions after that.
Epstein’s ties to Interlochen was highlighted in testimony from the group’s vice president of finance.
A letter from the group to Epstein thanked him for his $200,000 donation. It was money that went towards building a two-bedroom home known as the Green Lake Lodge, formerly known as the Epstein Scholarship Lodge.
An Interlochen spokesperson sent News 8 a statement Saturday.
“Interlochen is committed to ensuring a safe, nurturing environment in which our students can excel. We currently have a wide range of measures in place to ensure a safe, supportive environment for all students,” part of the statement read.
“To learn more about our comprehensive safety protocols, please visit our dedicated webpage, where you’ll find detailed information about our practices and approach. The well-being of our students will always be our highest priority.
“As has been previously publicized, Jeffrey Epstein attended Interlochen in the summer of 1967, and he was a donor to Interlochen Center for the Arts from 1990 to 2003.
“When Interlochen administrators learned of Epstein’s conviction in 2008, Interlochen conducted an internal review and found no record of complaint or concern about Epstein. All donor recognition in his name was removed from campus at that time. Subsequent to Epstein’s second arrest in July 2019, we again reviewed our records and found no report or complaint involving Epstein within our records.
“In keeping with our commitment to child welfare and to candor with our community, we have issued prior public statements about Epstein’s connection to Interlochen and cooperated with prosecutors and several inquiries by the media. And we encourage anyone who may have been impacted by sexual abuse, by Epstein, or any member of the Interlochen community, to report their experience and seek assistance.”
Michigan
Big Ten program to hire Alabama QB coach Nick Sheridan as OC
Michigan State is expected to hire Alabama QBs coach Nick Sheridan as its next offensive coordinator, On3’s Pete Nakos reported. Sheridan also serves as the Crimson Tide’s co-offensive coordinator.
Sheridan arrived at Alabama in 2024 as offensive coordinator and took on co-offensive coordinator duties this season as Ryan Grubb arrived in Tuscaloosa. He previously worked with Kalen DeBoer at Washington as tight ends coach after spending time on the staff at Indiana from 2017-21.
A Michigan alumnus, Sheridan started his coaching career at nearby Saline (Mich.) in 2010. His hire is notable for Pat Fitzgerald as he takes over at Michigan State.
After his season as the quarterbacks coach at Saline, Sheridan broke into college football as a graduate assistant at Western Kentucky in 2011. He then became the pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at USF in 2013 before three seasons as a graduate assistant at Tennessee from 2014-16.
In 2017, Sheridan became Indiana’s quarterbacks coach and moved to tight ends coach in 2019, which is when DeBoer joined the staff. He then took over as offensive coordinator from 2020-21 after DeBoer’s departure for Fresno State and joined him at Washington in 2022.
Nick Sheridan would be the latest high-profile hire for Fitzgerald, who’s preparing for his first year at Michigan State. The Spartans are also adding Iowa special teams coordinator LeVar Woods, Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz confirmed. Woods is expected to stay with Iowa through the bowl game before becoming MSU’s special teams coordinator and assistant head coach.
“I know it was a tough decision for him, and it was a really good opportunity for him to consider,” Ferentz told reporters this week. “We’ve had several coaches have that opportunity, as well. Just first and foremost, just want to congratulate him on that and just share a couple words about LeVar.
“He was on the team when I got here in December of ’98 and was a veteran player, one of the good veteran players that we had, and was a really big part of helping try to build this thing when we got started. Obviously a good player but more importantly a real leader and a guy who had helped set tempo and was really responsive to the way we were doing things.”
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