Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson each called foul on the U.S. Department of Justice’s demand for 2024 voter data from Wayne County.
The demand, issued last week by U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, requests all ballots, including absentee and provisional ballots, receipts and envelopes received by the county in the most recent presidential election. Dhillon claimed that an alleged history of voter fraud in Wayne County, Michigan’s largest and home to the city of Detroit, moved the department to question the election procedures administered by Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett, and that it will investigate whether federal election laws were violated in the previous cycle.
Dhillon cited three specific instances where residents either forged signatures on an absentee ballot or impersonated another voter. Materials requested in the demand letter must be turned over within the next 14 days as of April 14.
In a joint statement issued by Whitmer, Nessel and Benson, Michigan’s top officials said the demand was the latest in a troubling pattern from federal officials, as seen in Arizona, Georgia and Missouri. The statement also noted that the three cases of alleged voter fraud cited by Dhillon occurred in the 2020 election, and were either prosecuted by the state or dismissed as a civil claim by a Wayne County Circuit Court judge. Supposed evidence of voter fraud in at least one of the cases cited by Dhillon — Costantino v. Detroit — was found to be “incorrect and not credible” by the courts.
“Once again, President Donald Trump is weaponizing the Justice Department in an attempt to sabotage our democratic process and turn it into his own personal agency to interfere in state elections. This request is as absurd as it is baseless,” Nessel said in a statement. “Successful convictions underline that Michigan’s safeguards work and that instances of voter fraud are rare and addressed.”
Nessel further said that the Justice Department’s citation of prosecutions and recycling debunked 2020 election conspiracy theories, as justification to demand copies of the ballots of Michigan residents, was a clear attempt to “bully clerks and spread fear, even after Donald Trump won Michigan in 2024.”
Whitmer, in a statement, said that Michigan’s elections remain safe and secure, and that any attempt to suggest otherwise would be seen as a means to wipe away residents’ constitutional right to vote.
“More than 1,600 locally elected clerks across Michigan ensure that every citizen can vote and have their vote counted,” Whitmer said. “This demand is a poorly disguised attempt to justify more doubt and misinformation about our elections as well as direct federal interference. Let’s keep working together to uphold the rule of law and protect voting rights.”
Benson said in a statement that the demand letter issued to Wayne County was a direct attempt by Trump’s administration to interfere with the state’s elections.
“Their goal is to sow seeds of doubt about the legitimacy of the results this November and in 2028. We won’t be intimidated by these tactics,” Benson said. “We stand with Wayne County to ensure we protect the integrity of our elections and the privacy of Michigan voters. And we are ready to do the same with any other Michigan clerks DOJ threatens in this way. As always, we will follow the law and fight to protect our secure, accessible election system against this administration’s ongoing abuse of power.”
Nessel also sent a counter-letter to Dhillon, urging her to uphold the rule of law and reject Trump’s fishing attempt with a reel forged from debunked conspiracies.
Various voting rights groups in Michigan also denounced the administration’s fishing expedition, including Promote the Vote Advocates, the League of Women Voters of Michigan and the ACLU of Michigan.
“Our local communities run our elections. Not the federal government,” the ACLU of Michigan said in a statement. “Michigan elections officials and election workers work hard to carry out each step of the checks and balances in our election system to ensure every eligible voter can cast a ballot and that every vote is counted.”
Lynne Kochmanski, co-president, League of Women Voters of Michigan, said Michigan voters should not have to worry that their personal information will be exposed as the cost of participating in state elections.
“The League of Women Voters of Michigan is proud to stand up for voters and, as this case continues on appeal, we remain aligned with the state in protecting their privacy,” Kochmanski said.
Caren Short, the league’s director of legal and research, said similarly that the department’s demands go beyond what federal law requires. They also raise significant concerns about voter privacy.
“As this case moves through the courts, we continue to support Michigan’s efforts to protect that information and ensure long-standing safeguards for voters are upheld,” Short said in a statement.
Micheal Davis, Jr., executive director of Promote the Vote Advocates, said in a statement that the demand letter represented yet “another day” with “another attempt by the Trump administration to undermine Michigan’s elections because they don’t like how we vote.”
“This is what happens when disinformation and lies drive federal election policy,” Davis said. “We end up stuck in the past, rehashing claims that have already been thrown out by the courts.”
