Explosive New Lawsuit Challenges MI Sec of State Jocelyn Benson’s Order For Clerks to Defy Federal and State Law and Delete Election Records in Just 7 Days—What Is She Trying To Hide?
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.