Great Lakes Wire

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that the 16th Judicial Circuit Court in Macomb County dismissed claims brought under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) against 16 cities and townships. These claims were made following denied FOIA requests for election records containing sensitive information.

In the summer of 2023, the plaintiff sued the jurisdictions and their clerks after they denied FOIA requests for voter history extract files from electronic pollbooks at the direction of Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. The Department of Attorney General filed a motion to intervene in the case on behalf of Secretary Benson to assist local clerks and defend the Secretary’s authority in managing the State’s election data.

The records sought by the plaintiff included public information but also contained sensitive voter data and proprietary information that local officials cannot readily remove or redact. To protect this information and the security of Michigan’s electronic voter list, clerks were directed to deny the FOIA requests based on exemptions within FOIA and to redirect the requests to the Michigan Department of State. The Department can provide public information without sensitive data and provided the plaintiff with similar information he sought from local jurisdictions but without protected data.

“I am grateful that the Court reaffirmed Secretary Benson’s authority to safeguard Michigan election records and to provide public data without compromising private, sensitive information,” Nessel said. “My office will always protect election security against those who have a blatant disregard for voter privacy.”

In granting dismissal in favor of the Secretary and jurisdictions, Macomb Circuit Court Judge Edward A. Servitto rejected arguments from plaintiff's attorney Stefanie Lambert that Secretary Benson lacked authority to instruct local clerks to invoke exemptions and deny requests. The court found that sensitive data was rightly exempt from production under FOIA, and because the Secretary had already provided requested data, it dismissed FOIA claims as moot. Previously, the court also rejected a motion by the plaintiff to disqualify the Department of Attorney General from participating in litigation based on recent charges against attorney Lambert.

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