Ballots from a past Michigan election. (Susan J. Demas/Michigan Advance)

Michigan Court of Claims Judge Sima Patel on Wednesday dismissed a challenge to Michigan election law brought by the Republican National Committee and the Michigan Republican Party against Michigan’s secretary of state and director of elections.

While the suit aimed to invalidate a state law that allowed the spouses and dependents of Michigan voters who are living abroad to cast a ballot in Michigan elections, Patel concluded that the law remains in line with the Michigan Constitution.

The suit was one of many cases that Republicans have filed against Benson, with the Michigan Court of Appeals rejecting a similar case in 2025, centered on the same rules within the state Election Officials Manual.

While the law does not require a servicemember’s spouse or child to have lived in Michigan in order to cast their ballot there, the RNC argued that the law stood at odds with language in the state’s governing document that states, “every citizen of the United States who has attained the age of 21 years, who has resided in this state six months, and who meets the requirements of local residence provided by law, shall be an elector and qualified to vote in any election except as otherwise provided in this constitution.”

However, in her decision to grant the defendant’s motion for summary disposition, Patel noted that the constitution gives the Legislature authority to define residence for election purposes, with lawmakers setting that definition within the law in question.

In a statement, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson called the decision “a victory for military servicemembers, their families, and the rule of law.”

“Every U.S. citizen has the Constitutional right to freely cast their vote in every election — that should be a basic, nonpartisan position shared by every American, regardless of political preference,” Benson said. “I hope the court’s dismissal of this case marks the end of the RNC’s deliberate, well-funded attack on military and overseas citizen voting. But I’m prepared to continue the fight to defend the voting rights of every eligible citizen in our state and across the nation.”

Neither the RNC nor the Michigan Republican Party responded to messages asking whether they would appeal the decision.

Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, which filed a brief in support of Benson, echoed the secretary of state’s celebration, while pledging that “The DNC will stop at nothing to prevent Republicans from cheating their way out of accountability in 2026, especially when their schemes target the families of our brave military servicemembers, like they did in Michigan.”

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