Republican legislators are expressing their concerns over proposed changes to Michigan’s election recount procedures submitted by the Bureau of Elections at the Department of State.

Those concerns stem from the proposed changes conflicting with current election law. Despite the glaring contradictions between the current law and proposed changes, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and SOS Regulatory Officer Doug Novak last month asked the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules to issue a waiver on the changes, which would make them effective for the November General Election.

Some of those changes are extensive, eliciting correspondence to Board of Elections Director Jonathan Brater from Reps. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton Twp., and House Leader Matt Hall, R-Richland Twp.

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“I am deeply concerned about the proposed changes to election recount procedures … that your department has submitted,” wrote Bollin in a statement. “Our local clerks are already shouldering an immense burden with numerous new policies, now face the added stress of guidance from the Secretary of State that directly contradicts the law they are supposed to uphold.”

Bollin, who served on the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks Legislative Committee, continued: “The proposed rules sidestep the existing law, forcing clerks into a position where they must choose between following current legal requirements or adhering to your new guidelines. This is an unfair and untenable situation, especially with a major election on the horizon. Clerks should not be placed in a position where they must second-guess the law they are sworn to follow.”

Noting that she served 16 years as a township clerk, Bollin noted: “I know firsthand the challenges our local clerks face. It is vital that the Bureau of Elections supports clerks by providing clear, lawful, and consistent guidance. Introducing rules that are at odds with established only serves to create chaos and confusion. These officials are already managing an overwhelming workload, and adding contradictory rules into the mix is both impractical and irresponsible.”

According to Hall, the proposed changes would make it more difficult to challenge election fraud.

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“[T]he proposed rules would require boards of canvassers to deny any recount petition that doesn’t meet the very narrow criteria in the rules, which do not include fraud as a valid reason for a recount,” Hall said in a statement.

“This flagrantly illegal rulemaking is hardly a first,” Hall added. “Secretary Benson has a history of violating the law to meddle with our elections. She has attempted multiple times to instruct clerks to dispense with meticulous signature matching and unlawfully presume signatures on absentee ballots are vaild. She has tried to limit the important work of poll challengers without even going through the rulemaking process — clearly violating the Administrative Procedures Act. Courts have repeatedly struck down these lawless maneuvers.”