Michigan SOS to House Republicans who held her in contempt: I'll see you in court
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on Thursday afternoon said she has complied in good faith with House Oversight Committee subpoenas that requested the state's election training manuals, and that their vote on the House floor to hold her in contempt was a political stunt.
Benson, who is one of several candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2026, said in a news conference that if the move resulted in a lawsuit, then she would see the Republican House caucus in court.
'We have repeatedly asked the members of this committee to meet with us over the last several months, but they have refused,' Benson said. 'Now my office has released documents to the House Oversight Committee five times. We have turned over more than 3,300 pages of election documents to this committee and to the public on our department's website. So, if … House Republicans want to go to court over this, we will see them in court.'
Three key Michigan House Republicans, including Michigan House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay Township), on Thursday morning held a press conference saying they would request a resolution to hold Benson in contempt for bucking the subpoena request for unredacted election training manuals. DeBoyer claimed that Benson and the department were given an opportunity to meet and discuss why the materials needed to be redacted and some information shielded, but he said the department declined the offer.
In an early response to the threat of a contempt vote, the Department of State told Michigan Advance that it sent DeBoyer and others requesting the documents a letter that indicated they were more than willing to sit down and discuss the matter – but with an independent third-party mediator present. The department also questioned the scope and purpose of the inquiry.
Shortly after the Republican press conference, House session commenced, and one of the first orders of business was to approve House Resolution 117 holding Benson in contempt. The resolution was sponsored by DeBoyer and Rep. Ann Bollin (R-Brighton), chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Bollin was also present at the Thursday morning press conference, along with House Election Integrity Committee Chair Rep. Rachelle Smit (R-Martin).
Benson held her own news conference on Thursday afternoon, following the House session.
She said has a sworn duty to protect sensitive election information from falling into the wrong hands, and that included DeBoyer, who was given authority by the House to disseminate the information provided.
The secretary of state said that could very well happen if all that information was handed over without redaction or review. Overall, Benson said that the Republican-led House's tactics were 'no way to govern a state.'
'Every day the House Republicans spend playing political games like this, while the people of Michigan are struggling to pay for housing, pay for child care and pay for their basic needs, is an affront to the people they are elected to serve,' Benson said. 'This is government rooted in bullying and chaos, and I'm tired of it. It's not only ineffective, but it is dangerous, because [Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall] is the same person who chaired a committee meeting with Rudy Giuliani in 2020 to spread lies about the 2020 election.'
Although she believes in oversight and transparency, Benson said truth rules the day and that also meant ensuring the safety and security of the state's elections.
'You cannot bully me or abuse your authority to get access to information that, if it ends up in the wrong hands, could be used to interfere with the chain of custody of ballots, tamper with election equipment or impersonate a clerk on election day,' Benson said. 'The caveat that we need to be clear and careful about is information that could end up in the wrong hands and essentially enable the tampering of election equipment, impersonation of a clerk or harm the chain of custody of ballots.'
Given DeBoyer's broad authority, Benson said those concerns about security and confidentiality were real and justified.
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel Jr. in a statement said Hall and his caucus were abusing their power and control of the House to attack their political enemies and push election conspiracy theories.
'Right now, we are seeing yet another gross overstep by MAGA Matt Hall's House Republican caucus as they put their extremist agenda ahead of the well-being of Michiganders,' Hertel said. 'At a moment when Republicans at the federal level are trying to gut Medicaid, it's deeply concerning that Michigan Republicans are doing absolutely nothing to help Michiganders and are instead wasting time with political attacks.'
Hertel added that the move by DeBoyer and Michigan House Republicans was not about election security, but rather a push to legitimize debunked election theories.
'It's an embarrassment, and Michiganders deserve better,' Hertel said.
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