House Republicans are giving Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson 10 business days to hand over basic training documents her department told one lawmaker would cost $9,000 and require 140 man-hours to produce.

House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Jay DeBoyer, R-Clay Twp., is sending a letter to Benson and the Michigan Department of State she oversees demanding the release of basic election training information provided to election clerks and stored on the Bureau of Elections E-Learning Portal.

If that doesn’t happen, DeBoyer plans to follow up with a subpoena.

Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

The demand follows testimony in committee on Tuesday from Speaker Pro Tem Rachelle Smit, R-Martin, about her four-month long attempt to access the uncontroversial materials, and Benson’s repeated refusals to comply.

“Secretary Benson repeatedly tells the public that her department is a paragon of transparency,” Smit said in a statement. “However, my four-month ordeal trying to obtain the most basic of records indicates otherwise. The way Secretary Benson operates her department is not transparency, it’s obfuscation.”

Smit initially requested the documents from the DoS on Nov. 7, 2024, and officials replied that the request could not be fulfilled. The response prompted Smit to file a Freedom of Information Act request, and the department responded on Nov. 21 that officials could not understand the FOIA.

“Our request was unmistakably clear: simply to be given login credentials to the e-learning portal so we could review the training and instructions provided to Michigan clerks,” Smit said. “Yet, somehow, this was incomprehensible. All of these documents should be public and should not be hidden behind false privileges.”

Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

The November requests came as Benson attempted to console Democrats following President Donald Trump’s election victory, with posts to X about how the “fight’s not over” and pitches for her new book “The Purposeful Warrior: Standing Up for What’s Right When the Stakes are High.”

The former hate crimes investigator has since announced plans to oversee her own election for governor in 2026, touting her work “providing a government that works for everyone and building a democracy that is accessible to everyone.”

“It’s time to act,” Benson posted to X in December. “Let’s make government more transparent for everyone.”

“Congratulations to Michigan’s newly sworn-in lawmakers,” she posted on Jan. 1. “I am looking forward to working with all of you to ensure Michigan’s government truly works for everyone.”

“I know how to make government work,” Benson posted days later.

“I worked tirelessly to restore faith in our work, cut through the red tape, and eliminate wait times,” read another post on Jan. 5.

Two days later, Benson’s office informed Smit it would cost nearly $9,000 and require 140 man-hours to produce the requested documents, a response the Republican described as “ridiculous” and “obviously designed to deter my office from scrutinizing its election management.”

“I’m looking forward to working with everyone to ensure our government is transparent, election officials are protected, and our elections are accessible and secure,” Benson posted Jan. 8.

“I’ll never lose sight of my belief that the government should work for everyone and that government officials should work just as hard as everyone else,” she posted the next day.

It’s been more of the same since Benson’s botched campaign rollout on Jan. 22.

“You’ve got to be able to bring folks together to get things done in Michigan, and that’s what I’ve done as Secretary of State,” Benson posted Jan. 24.

“As Secretary of State, I made sure any FOIA requests were not only met, but also placed on my website for anyone to see,” she wrote on Jan. 29.

“I’m proud of the work we’ve done to make government work for everyone, defend our democracy and run the most efficient state agency in our country,” a Feb. 4 post read.

“Leadership isn’t about words – it’s about action,” Benson wrote days later.

On Feb. 6, Smit sent another request for the documents in her capacity as chair of the Committee on Election Integrity for “the most basic legislative purposes,” but was ignored.

“My staff followed up on the Feb. 6 request repeatedly, only to be met with obvious sandbagging and delay tactics,” Smit said. “Ultimately, the department promised they would produce some of the requested material, but not all. However, even this document production never materialized.”

It was only after pressure from the House Oversight Committee did Benson’s office release a large portion of the information requested, and it took only about four hours.

“There is no scenario in which the documents I requested could take 140 man-hours to generate,” Smit said. “I am willing to believe that Secretary Benson’s office is slow, even painfully slow, but 140 man-hours is a ridiculous amount of time to gather documents that would take any competent person, at most, 2 or 3 hours.”

The situation forced Smit to submit a formal request to the House Oversight Committee for a subpoena to secure the remaining documents.

“If the Legislature cannot investigate – if it cannot review public documents – then its core functions in setting budgets and providing oversight into the operations of state government are being obstructed,” Smit said. “The obstruction of the Legislature is something that we need to put a stop to immediately.”

DeBoyer said he will revisit the issue in committee to consider a subpoena if Benson doesn’t comply with the committee’s request for all documents in 10 business days.