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Michigan GOP Launches Attack On Overseas Voters Before Midterm Elections

Ahead of the midterm elections, Republicans are attempting to strike down a decades-old Michigan law that allows the spouses and children of overseas Michigan voters to cast their ballots in the state, even if they have never lived there, as long as they are U.S. citizens.

If successful, the lawsuit would affect military families whose last U.S. residence was in Michigan.

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It aims to change how the state counts votes prior to the June date on which absentee ballots are mailed out — in plenty of time to impact the 2026 midterms — and comes amid a wider assault on voting rights by Republicans nationwide.

However, a similar lawsuit filed ahead of the 2024 presidential election was tossed out just before Election Day. A Michigan appellate court affirmed the decision to toss the case in August.

In the current suit, Michigan Republicans argue that permitting people who have never physically resided in Michigan to vote there violates the state constitution. Proponents of the law say that it makes the most sense to have American citizens’ votes count in the state they have ties to, even if they haven’t yet lived there.

The complaint was filed on Friday by the Republican National Committee and Michigan Republican Party, according to Democracy Docket, a progressive news site dedicated to voting rights. A spokesperson for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, said Tuesday that the secretary of state has yet to receive it.

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“We have not yet been served this lawsuit, and so cannot comment on its specifics, though this is not the first time we’ve learned of an RNC lawsuit from the media,” spokesperson Cheri Hardmon said in a statement to HuffPost.

“As a military spouse, Secretary Benson is fighting to ensure that those who protect our freedoms are able to exercise their fundamental right to vote,” Hardmon continued. “While others seek to suppress the votes of active duty servicemembers and their families, Secretary Benson continues to protect and defend voting rights for all eligible Michigan citizens in accordance with longstanding state and federal laws.”

The lawsuit makes a point of noting that the law harms Republican candidates and benefits Democratic ones.

“[H]istorically overseas voters overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates,” it states. “Thus, counting the ballots of ineligible overseas voters will disproportionally harm Republican candidates and undermine the Republican candidates’ rights to a fair and accurate electoral count.”

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With the midterms less than a year away, Republicans have been scrutinizing election procedures in swing states like Michigan, which went for President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential race but chose former President Joe Biden in 2020.

Republican state lawmakers have been demanding information from Benson’s office on election management that Benson says could potentially compromise the state’s ability to hold a fair election.