Trump Was Right: Judge Rules MI Secretary of State Broke Law with Absentee Ballot Order

[xotrevor]

March 17, 2021

A Michigan judge went a long way to validating one of the key claims made by the Trump campaign’s post-election legal challenges when he ruled last week that a state official broke the law by unilaterally changing regulations regarding mail-in voting.

According to Breitbart, Michigan Court of Claims Chief Judge Christopher Murray ruled Democrat Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson broke the state’s Administrative Procedures Act when she issued “guidance” regarding how absentee ballots were to be evaluated “because the guidance issued by the Secretary of State on October 6, 2020, with respect to signature matching standards was issued in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.”

As the Detroit News noted, the “Administrative Procedures Act requires state agencies that are developing a rule to better implement state law to go through months of public notices, drafts, impact analyses, public comment and public hearings.” Benson did none of this, of course.

Breitbart reported Benson’s “guidance” said “slight similarities” between the signatures on the absentee ballot were enough for a vote counter to rule “in favor of finding that the voter’s signature was valid.”

The examples cited in the ruling were a bit more eyebrow-raising than that, however, and make Benson’s “guidance” more of an order mandating virtually all ballots be counted — regardless of their actual signature qualifications.

For instance, Benson’s guidance said signature review “begins with the presumption that” the signatures are valid, either in regards to the application or the ballot envelope.

“Further, the form instructs clerks to, if there are any redeeming qualities in the [absent voter] application or return envelope signature as compared to the signature on file, treat the signature as valid. (Underlining in the original.),” Murray wrote.

“’Redeeming qualities’ are described as including, but not being limited to, ‘similar distinctive flourishes,’ and ‘more matching features than nonmatching features,'” Murray noted.

“Signatures ‘should be considered questionable’ the guidance explained, only if they differ ‘in multiple, significant and obvious respects from the signature on file.’ (Emphasis in original). ‘[W]henever possible,’ election officials were to resolve ‘[s]light dissimilarities’ in favor of finding that the voter’s signature was valid.”

Link: https://www.westernjournal.com/trump-ri ... lot-order/