LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – When Republicans’ suit regarding Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s updates to the 2022 Election Observers and Challengers Manual was upheld by lower courts, there seemed to be a moment of victory for the GOP plaintiffs. However, Michigan’s Supreme Court issued a stay which will remain in effect for the appeal periods.   

The order would leave in place the same poll challenger guidelines used in the recent August primary for the upcoming general election. 

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While the decision was supported by some justices, others had a different view of the Michigan Supreme Court’s decision. Republican-nominated Justice David Viviano argued in his dissenting statement that Benson and Michigan elections director Jonathan Brater didn’t meet a legal standard to grant their request to suspend the lower court order according to the Detroit Free Press. 

“We live in a political age where one side claims our ‘democracy is at stake’ because the other is questioning the integrity of our elections — an age-old and seemingly bipartisan tradition,” Viviano wrote, “Therefore, the stakes of this case — which will affect how this year’s election is administered —could not be higher. But you would not know it from the majority’s treatment of the case.”

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson released a statement regarding the verdict, and affirms that the election will be transparent. 

“Michigan voters can be confident that, no matter how they choose to cast their ballot or who they vote for, they will be safe, their vote will be counted securely, and the results of this election will be an accurate reflection of the will of the voters,” Benson said in a statement, “Elections officials and law enforcement are more prepared than ever before to immediately address any attempt to interfere in or disrupt the election process or intimidate voters and ensure that all voters are safe and their rights are protected.”

Currently Poll challengers are authorized to contest a voter’s eligibility to vote and any election procedures they observe.  Poll watchers can observe but are not able to challenge election processes.  The lawsuits against Benson contended that the SOS’s updated manual for challengers and watchers violated Michigan election law and included rules that required a vetting process by the public and state legislature. 

Part of the court’s decision pertained to allowing challengers to bring electronic devices such as smartphones and laptops inside counting rooms that process absentee ballots, and lower courts ruled challengers had the right to communicate with any election worker and have their challenges recorded in the poll book. 

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Now the Court of Claims’ decision about the manual will go on hold until the Court of Appeals considers the case. The Supreme Court’s order will keep the 2022 Benson updated manual in effect through the primary.