Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is under fire again — this time over a rule that forces local clerks to destroy critical election records just days after an election.
On August 12, attorney Kevin Kijewski filed a verified complaint in the Michigan Court of Claims on behalf of Bridgewater Township Clerk Michelle McQueer. Kijewski, a former Republican candidate for Michigan Attorney General, first gained statewide attention for successfully defending Clifford Frost, one of the Republican alternate electors targeted by Attorney General Dana Nessel. After securing the dismissal of the charges against Frost, Kijewski was inspired to seek the AG nomination, running on a platform of ending partisan lawfare and restoring the rule of law.
The new lawsuit challenges Rule R 168.48, issued under Benson’s authority, which requires clerks to delete electronic poll book software and all associated files within seven days after an election is certified.
Could Benson’s requirement to willfully destroy election documents in advance of the 22-month federal and state preservation statute put clerks in jeopardy of being criminally charged?
Federal law states:
-52 U.S.C. § 20701 requires every “officer of election” to retain and preserve all records relating to voting in federal elections for 22 months.
-52 U.S.C. § 20702 makes it a federal crime for any person to willfully destroy, conceal, or alter those records.
Penalty: up to a $1,000 fine, up to one year in prison, or both.
The complaint argues the rule collides with federal statute (52 U.S.C. § 20701), which requires election officers to preserve all records relating to acts of voting in federal elections for 22 months. Willful destruction of those records is a federal crime. Michigan law (MCL 168.811) similarly prohibits the destruction of election returns, poll lists, and federal-office ballots before the same 22-month period expires.
McQueer contends the electronic poll books contain unique detailed data — including activity logs, timestamps, ballot transactions, and operator actions — that are not fully preserved in printed reports or the Qualified Voter File. Once deleted, that information is gone. She is asking the court to declare the seven-day deletion rule invalid or unenforceable where it conflicts with the longer retention requirements, and to issue an injunction blocking its enforcement against those protected records.
This is far from Benson’s first major legal setback on election procedures.
In 2020, Benson issued guidance directing local clerks to apply a strong presumption in favor of accepting absentee ballot signatures and to look for “any redeeming qualities” when comparing them. Allegan County Clerk Robert Genetski and the Michigan Republican Party sued, arguing the directive amounted to a binding rule that bypassed the required Administrative Procedures Act process. In March 2021, the Michigan Court of Claims agreed and ruled Benson’s signature-matching guidance invalid. The decision came too late to affect the 2020 election, but it marked a clear loss for the Secretary of State in court.
Benson is also facing mounting workplace discrimination claims. Multiple Black employees in her Department of State have filed lawsuits alleging a racially hostile environment, unequal treatment, and retaliation. One former employee received a $775,000 settlement. Additional lawsuits followed in 2026, with reports describing the filings as marking at least the fourth such complaint in recent years.
At the same time, Benson has refused to fully comply with demands from the Trump Justice Department to turn over Michigan’s complete voter rolls so non-citizens can be identified and removed. She provided only a limited public version and has fought broader disclosure in federal court.
Former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox is also suing Benson for records related to her past service on the board of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Benson served as a director from 2014 to 2018, a period that overlaps with years in which federal investigators later alleged the organization directed millions of dollars to paid informants associated with extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan. Cox and House Republicans have demanded full transparency into her role and any related communications.
The new electronic poll book lawsuit comes as Benson continues to oversee Michigan elections while facing discrimination claims, resisting federal voter-roll requests, and answering questions about her SPLC board service. For a Secretary of State already carrying a record of court losses and unresolved controversies, the latest challenge adds to growing legal and political pressure.
Yet another group is now demanding transparency in Jocelyn Benson’s non-transparent elections and fighting to require proof of citizenship in upcoming elections.
This morning, Americans for Citizens Voting-Michigan held a press conference that included two Michigan lawmakers, including Speaker Pro Temp and Election Integrity Committee Chair Rachelle Smit. The event highlighted a recent video released by James O’Keefe that draws on information provided by Patty McMurray of The Gateway Pundit that exposes an Iranian non-citizen, Afshin Masheli, who served jail time for first-degree sexual assault and appears on the DHS “Worst of the Worst” Criminal Aliens list. Masheli, a non-citizen, has voted three times in Michigan elections. Iran has refused to take him back despite a final removal order.
BREAKING: James O’Keefe Releases ANOTHER Shocking Undercover Video From Michigan Showing Him Asking “Voters” About Duplicate Absentee Envelopes For Same Person
Link in the comments. pic.twitter.com/5sJocsRYVu
— The Gateway Pundit (@gatewaypundit) August 11, 2026
The purpose of the press conference is to draw attention to the August 24, 2026 meeting of the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, which will decide whether to certify the Citizen Only Voting Amendment for the November 3 ballot. The petition, which gathered more than 700,000 signatures, has already been submitted to the Board of Elections.
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