FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DETROIT — With a crucial presidential election approaching, the ACLU of Michigan sent a letter to every board of county canvassers in the state this week to remind them of election law and their obligation to certify any election based solely on returns.
The letter is intended to ensure that these election officials are aware that the ACLU will be carefully monitoring their activities through November. A canvasser who refuses to perform their legal and constitutional obligations by voting to certify the election based solely on the returns may be subject to swift and decisive legal action, whether from the ACLU or from other voter-protective organizations.
The letter follows the successful resolution of a lawsuit filed against a member of the Kalamazoo County Board of Canvassers after the official was quoted in a newspaper article that raised doubts about his commitment to certify the upcoming presidential election if the results mirrored those of the 2020 election. Although he denied making the statements attributed to him in an article the newspaper stood by, after the lawsuit was filed, the official agreed to sign a sworn affidavit stating that he will not refuse to certify results of the election based on any information extrinsic to the statement of returns.
The speed with which that case was resolved reflects that there is no legal defense for members of boards of canvassers who refuse to certify elections based on anything except the returns themselves. And there are legal consequences when canvassing board members refuse to do exactly that. Candidates or voters who believe there has been misconduct or fraud in an election have an appropriate remedy to raise those issues either by going to court to litigate them or by requesting investigations from law enforcement and election administration officials. But boards of canvassers have no role whatsoever in considering such issues.
Phil Mayor, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan, said this about the letter:
“We believe that the vast majority of canvassers understand their responsibilities and take them as seriously as we do and as Michigan’s voters demand and expect. However, we remain troubled by public comments by some canvassers suggesting a lack of faith in Michigan’s electoral system and a potential willingness to abuse the authority vested in the position. We’re taking this action at a time when it is being widely reported that there exists an anti-democratic trend of election denialism in which local officials in Michigan and throughout the country have threatened to interfere with the election certification process. We sincerely hope our letter will convince any canvassers who have expressed such sentiments to put aside their political beliefs and perform their legal duties come November, thereby avoiding the potential for legal liability that could follow from a failure to do so.”
Read the letter here.