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State Court of Claims Judge Christopher Murray has ruled invalid Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s guidance issued to Michigan clerks in early October that instructed them to presume the accuracy of absentee ballot signatures.

 

Because Benson did not go through the proper rule-making process when issuing the guidance, clerks do not need to comply with it for future elections, Murray ruled last week.

 

“The presumption is found nowhere in state law,” wrote Murray, an appointee of Republican former Gov. John Engler. “The mandatory presumption goes beyond the realm of mere advice and direction, and instead is a substantive directive that adds to the pertinent signature-matching standards.”

 

But the ruling has come too late to matter, despite all the irregular data.

 

“The Michigan Republican Party, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, celebrated the decision but noted it came too late to make a difference in the November election.

 

Michigan Republicans say they were certain from the outset that Benson had obviously violated Michigan law, yet all of this seems to have been swept under the rug until now in the media:

 

“It was clear from the outset that the secretary of state had violated Election Law by unilaterally directing local clerks to ignore their statutory obligation to compare absentee ballot signatures,” said Ted Goodman, communications director for the state GOP.

 

Michigan law requires clerks to match required signatures on absentee ballot applications and absentee ballot envelopes with the voter signature on file to ensure the person submitting the ballot is the same one registered to vote in Michigan.

 

But state law doesn’t define what it means for signatures to “agree sufficiently.”