Michigan court says most of the data must come out
A Michigan Court of Claims judge just dealt a hard blow to the state bureaucracy’s favorite hobby, hiding public information and then acting shocked when people notice. Judge Christopher P. Yates ruled in favor of Phani Mantravadi, founder of Check My Vote, in a FOIA lawsuit over the Michigan Bureau of Elections’ decision to redact the “Voting Type” column from the Qualified Voter File. That column shows whether a voter cast a ballot on Election Day, voted early in person, or used an absentee ballot. For years, the information had been available, and then in March 2024 the Bureau suddenly locked it down while claiming it had to protect the secret ballot. The court was not impressed.
The secret ballot excuse did not hold up
Judge Yates ruled that the vast majority of voting-type information must be released to the public under FOIA. He said the state did not prove a valid exemption or any constitutional reason to hide this data for every voter across Michigan. In plain English, the court said the Bureau could not wave the “privacy” flag and call it a day. The judge did note that very limited redaction could be justified in rare cases involving very small precincts, but that is a far cry from blanket secrecy for the whole state. He also rejected the claim that this was personal information, pointing out that Michigan had long treated voting-type data as public.
Another familiar setback for Benson’s office
This is not the first time a court has pushed back on Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s election policies. In 2024, Judge Yates also ruled against Benson in another election-related case, and Michigan courts have repeatedly checked efforts by her office that critics say make elections less transparent. The article also pointed back to Benson’s 2020 directive telling local clerks to treat absentee ballot signatures as valid unless they were obviously different, a policy later found invalid in Republican Party of Michigan v. Benson. Supporters of election integrity say the pattern is clear: the public keeps asking for transparency, and Lansing keeps reaching for the filing cabinet lock.
Why this ruling matters for voters
Election integrity supporters say this decision matters because voters have a right to know how election records are handled and who is making those choices. If government agencies can hide basic voting-type data without a strong legal reason, trust will keep taking a beating. That is not a partisan talking point. That is just common sense, which sadly remains in short supply in too many state offices. Mantravadi’s FOIA fight put the issue in front of the court, and Judge Yates’ ruling says the public can see most of the data again. For anyone who believes elections should be both free and transparent, that is a win worth noticing.
BREAKING: A Michigan judge just ruled that the Democrat Secretary of State's election manual issued to local election officials is unconstitutional & against state law. He is also mandating strict signature verification for mail in votes in the upcoming 2024 election
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