St. Clair Today

On Friday, legal counsel for the Michigan House of Representatives reached out to the Michigan Department of Attorney General (MDAG), inviting the Michigan Department of State (MDOS) to demonstrate privately why they cannot disclose all unredacted election training materials requested by legislators. This invitation follows a protracted exchange between MDOS and the Legislature over MDOS's refusal to release these materials, citing the need to protect confidential information.

State Representatives Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay Township) and Rachelle Smit (R-Shelbyville) expressed their views on this matter: “The Secretary of State’s office should look at our invitation as us giving them the benefit of the doubt for their frankly appalling lack of transparency. We are handing them the opportunity to come and demonstrate to us that their claims of confidentiality are truthful. If they actually have confidential materials that cannot, for whatever reason, be disclosed to legislators, they should be able to show us that in a private setting."

They further questioned, "When we were clerks no more than three years ago, we could see every piece of the election training materials that Jocelyn Benson is now hiding from us. Her refusal now to hand over this information prompts the question: is it because we are no longer clerks, or is it because we are now legislators trying to hold her accountable? Her department will have the chance to prove to us that it’s the former and not the latter by sitting down with us in private and showing us why this allegedly sensitive information must be kept confidential.”

Earlier this week, MDOS defied a subpoena issued by DeBoyer demanding full disclosure of undisclosed election training materials. The deadline set by DeBoyer for providing complete unredacted materials was Tuesday; however, MDOS only released additional partly redacted documents.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson responded with a statement affirming she “upheld her obligation to protect sensitive information related to election security” by withholding documents potentially allowing interference with future elections. These withheld materials include content accessible to DeBoyer and Smit during their tenure as clerks three years prior.

The letter sent sets a deadline for response from MDAG at 11:00 am on Thursday, May 22. It proposes a confidential joint redaction process where representatives from both MDOS and the Michigan House would agree on what should remain undisclosed but emphasizes MDOS's legal duty to comply fully with DeBoyer’s subpoena.