Overview
- Twenty-two Republican lawmakers led by Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt sent a Nov. 13 letter asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to deploy Justice Department personnel to observe polling places, absentee processing, voter registration activities, and central count facilities in 2026.
- The Justice Department declined to comment on the letter, and no federal monitoring plan has been announced.
- Michigan Department of State officials and Jocelyn Benson’s campaign condemned the request as baseless and dangerous, stressing that more than 1,600 local clerks administer elections and bipartisan canvassing boards certify results.
- The lawmakers cite Benson’s 2025 campaign launch in a state building that Attorney General Dana Nessel deemed a campaign finance violation without penalties, her 2020 absentee-application mailings, and a report noting 16 suspected noncitizen votes out of over 5.7 million cast in 2024.
- Election-law experts say secretaries of state frequently run while in office, Michigan’s decentralized structure limits any single official’s control, and a pre-election request for comprehensive federal oversight is atypical and lacks a clear legal basis.