LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – In a recent development, Michigan Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is facing legal action for allegedly subverting the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and obstructing access to crucial election data. The lawsuit was initiated by Jackson County’s Scott Aughney after spending time delving into election matters since February 2021. His inquiries over the years have been aimed to validate allegations of irregularities and potential voting fraud circulating within the state’s electoral processes.
Who is the plaintiff?
Aughney is a founding member of Citizens for Electoral Justice and is an advocate for free and fair elections. He previously ran for Chair of the Michigan GOP and is running to be the Jackson County Sheriff in the August primary against current Sheriff Gary R. Schuette.
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Aughney also tells us that he is the defacto leader of Locus Standi investigations which he describes as “grassroots led criminal investigations” geographically located in various counties throughout the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. These investigations occurred from fall 2022 to spring 2023.
The investigations centered on public election records initiated by whistleblowers and the public by gathering evidence of election records from local clerks, county clerks and the Michigan Bureau of Elections. Aughney also communicates with the Election Integrity Force about election issues. They are a self-described conglomerate of non-profit organizations formed by citizens concerned with attempts to subvert the integrity of elections.
Aughney’s skillset listed in his complaint against Benson includes “essentials in application development, application hosting, data analysis, data reporting, deployment strategies, and network protocols” in addition to programming skills for the following platforms: SAP Crystal Reports, MS Access, SQL Database, SQL Server, and Visual Basic for Applications.
Legal basis and timeline.
On May 10, 2024, Scott Aughney, acting in a pro se capacity (representing oneself in a legal proceeding without the assistance of a lawyer), filed a complaint against Jocelyn Benson in the Michigan Court of Claims and followed it up with a 92-page brief on May 30th.
Aughney’s legal action follows what he points to as a series of changes implemented by Benson through the Michigan Bureau of Elections. These changes reportedly have restricted access to previously available election data, a move that Aughney argues undermines public transparency.
Aughney told Michigan News Source, “The Michigan Bureau of Elections, the Secretary of State, and with the obstructionist help of the Attorney General, have gone out of their way to obstruct our ability to look at any of this stuff. They don’t want us looking at it. I have a problem with public officials committing crimes and getting away with it. And law enforcement not upholding the laws.”
The case has been assigned to Judge James Robert Redford in the Court of Claims. According to the latest records online, on June 5th, attorneys for the Secretary of State asked for a motion for extension to file their first responsive pleading and it was granted on June 7th.
Attorney General’s office is defending the Secretary of State.
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The defendant’s reason for requesting the extension was explained in the court records in the following way: “As of today’s date, undersigned counsel have been assigned to handle three emergency election cases filed since June 3. Due to this current press of business and Plaintiff’s recent filing, Defendant requests this Honorable Court grant her an additional fifteen days to file her first responsive pleading, making it due June 20, 2024.”
Heather S. Meingast and Erik A. Grill, Assistant Attorneys General, are listed as the attorneys for defendant Benson in court filings.
Aughney predicts that the defendant will most likely ask for a summary disposition based on FOIA law MCL – Section 15.243 in the Freedom of Information Act. That law exempts many things from being disclosed in a FOIA request based on security issues.
Lori Bourbonais, an official within the Michigan Bureau of Elections, already told clerks last year that the information an election activist sought from the electronic poll books contained proprietary software information, security feature information and personal identifiable information for voters.
Key allegations.
In Aughney’s complaint it outlines his grievances against Secretary Benson. He says, “The nature of this claim pertains to the unlawful actions, directives, reporting practices, policies, and processes implemented by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (Henceforth referred to as SOS Benson) through the office of the Michigan Bureau of Elections (henceforth referred to as BOE). This lawsuit being the culmination of investigative work rooted from individuals of grassroots origins, will outline the efforts of the SOS Benson, through the Michigan BOE, to undermine and subvert transparency as well as obstruct and impede the ability of the public to bring criminal investigations through their local law enforcement and offices of County Prosecutors.”
The court document goes on to say, “The ability to construct accurate audit trails from FOIA-ed data is paramount to Proactive election integrity. This requires not only proper procedural protocols on the part of the data solicitors, but also adherence to constitutional AND statutory laws by those who administer the data domains, specifically rooted in the office of the Secretary of State and the BOE.”
The lawsuit centers on several key actions by Benson and the Bureau of Elections in the complaint. One major issue is the restriction of access to electronic poll book data. Aughney contends that the “epb_history.csv” file, a crucial dataset that was previously accessible through FOIA, has been altered to limit public access, raising transparency concerns.
Another significant action involves the modification of voter history reports. Aughney alleges that the fourth column, known as the “User Code” column, has been removed from individual “Voter History” reports which has implications for the completeness and accuracy of these records.
Additionally, the lawsuit highlights the removal of timestamps from the Qualified Voter File (QVF) data. Timestamps are essential for verifying the timing of voter registrations and changes, and Aughney says their elimination hampers efforts to ensure the integrity of the voter registration process.
Finally, there is an issue with the denial of access to pre-Election Day QVF data. Aughney argues that clerks’ access to QVF data downloaded the day before elections has been restricted, which affects the ability to audit election procedures and ensure their accuracy and fairness.
Aughney’s demands…
Aughney seeks injunctive relief to address these issues, including the restoration of the “epb_history.csv” file, ensuring it is accessible, unzipped and unencrypted; reinstatement of the user code column in voter history reports; reintroduction of timestamps in QVF data and adding back the removed timestamps; suspension of election activities including a temporary halt of all statewide elections; lawful compliance of Benson to provided election data in response to FOIA requests; and the establishment of an effective and lawful process to validate the eligibility of jurisdictional registered voters.
See part two of this series here – The Battle for Transparency: Michigan Activist Takes on Secretary of State in Voting Data Lawsuit
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