Earlier this month, the Department of Justice demanded that the Wayne County Clerk’s Office hand over all Wayne County ballots from the 2024 US presidential election.
In a letter to the Clerk’s office dated April 14, Republican official Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, requested “all ballots (including absentee and provisional), ballot receipts, and ballot envelopes.”
Dhillon said the DOJ needs Wayne County’s ballots to make sure “federal election laws were not violated in the November 2024 election.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel criticized the letter, calling it an attempt to interfere with Michiganders’ constitutional rights to vote.
“I don’t really think the general electorate is worried so much about this made-up fraud, this narrative that’s trying to get pushed,” said Katrina Manetta, candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives’s 58th District—a genuine swing district that elected a Democrat in 2022 and a Republican in 2024. “I think they’re worried about their rent, about whether their kids’ school is being funded. I think they’re worried about healthcare.”
The issue isn’t just in Detroit: The White House has tried to undermine Michigan’s and other states’ election processes since President Donald Trump began his second term, seeking to obtain sensitive voter information and take the constitutionally guaranteed control of elections away from states.
And every Republican congressperson in Michigan is either actively helping or supporting President Trump’s agenda to influence elections.
Meet the Election Deniers Representing Michigan
In February, after Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson refused to send Michigan voter registration data to the DOJ, every member of Michigan’s Republican delegation signed a letter urging her to change her mind—and it came directly from US Rep. Tom Barrett’s (R-7th Congressional District) desk.
Michigan Republicans want Washington to have access to Michigan’s election-related records, even though a 2025 study found just 15 total fraudulent votes in Michigan out of 5.7 million votes cast in the 2024 presidential election.
Barrett also met President Trump at the White House after the 2020 US presidential election so they could discuss how Republicans could disqualify Michigan’s electors from certifying their votes for former President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D), even though those electors were acting in accordance with both their jobs as electors and the results of Michiganders’ votes. Disqualifying the slate of 15 qualified, nominated and selected, and constitutionally protected electors would have effectively silenced the will of Michigan voters.
Republican US Representatives for Michigan John James (R-10th Congressional District) and Bill Huizenga (R-4th Congressional District) are also vocal supporters of Washington interfering with Michigan’s elections.
The same day Barrett’s letter to Benson was posted, James shared a letter on his Facebook page reinforcing the argument, framing it as “concerns about election integrity.” Election deniers often use this phrase to sow doubt about election outcomes and push for federal takeover of states’ election handling. The letter was co-signed by Rep. Jack Bergman (R-1st Congressional District).
Looking back to December 2020, Bergman also joined Trump and Huizenga in co-signing a Republican-led lawsuit against Pennsylvania. The suit challenged Pennsylvania’s outcome in that year’s presidential election after Biden won the state. The Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
All of these actions by Michigan Republicans played a part in perpetuating the conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from Trump, despite bipartisan investigations finding no meaningful evidence of voter fraud.
Now, voters and election security advocacy groups are pointing to the DOJ’s demand on Wayne County as evidence that the Republican party is preparing to undermine the November midterms and the 2028 presidential election.
The Flimsy Case for Seizing Michigan Ballots
The DOJ claims there is ample evidence to seize and investigate the 2024 ballots for fraud. However, so far the facts don’t support this.
In her letter to the Wayne County Clerk’s Office, Dhillon gave three examples of “successfully prosecuted” voter fraud in Michigan. However, all three were from the 2020 election, not the 2024 election. Also, Michigan tallied 5,539,302 votes in 2020. This means fraudulent votes accounted for 0.00005% of Michigan’s ballots—hardly a number that would sway an election. In fact, Trump would have to find a minimum of 77,094 votes that were wrongfully granted to Biden in order to say he had won Michigan in 2020.
The actual number of fraudulent votes cited falls short by 77,091. What do these three prosecuted instances of fraudulent votes say about election integrity?
“The state system caught it,” Manetta said. “We’re over here treating it like Michigan’s elections are broken, but I think we have proof here in Macomb County that the system did work.”
Dhillon’s letter also mentions a civil case Republicans filed related to the November 2020 election. In that case, Republicans claimed Democrats committed “widespread voter fraud” at Huntington Place in Detroit.
The lawsuit was dismissed, with the court finding the claims were “not credible.” Meanwhile, election officials said the only crime committed at Huntington Place was “disruptive and intimidating behavior by Republican challengers,” which led to police having to intervene and ultimately remove the Republican challengers from the premises.
What Could Happen Next?
If Michigan Republicans and their colleagues in Congress let the White House take over presidential elections—as President Trump has suggested they do—decisions over which ballots are considered “fraudulent” or “illegitimate” would happen in the Oval Office.
Not all Michiganders are prepared to surrender their voting rights.
“We will be making sure that Macomb County has a strong presence to make sure that the elections are safe here, and that people have a fair opportunity,” Manetta said. “Those are private citizens exercising their right to vote, and the idea that the federal government can just demand all of those ballots without cause can and should concern everyone, regardless of our party, regardless of our county.
“And I think that we all should step up in that case.”
Alternatively, Michiganders have the power to keep elections free and fair.
First, sharing this latest attempt to control past and future elections will help spread accurate information on social media and among social groups, versus allowing misinformation to run rampant.
Second, find out who’s on your ballot here. Research candidates’ leadership history and alignment with election deniers. Here’s a list of every Congressional representative and district in Michigan.
Third, don’t sleep on seemingly insignificant elections. The Secretary of State runs Michigan’s election system—current Secretary of State Benson has already had to protect Michigan’s elections many times over—and county election board members run local elections. Research candidates running for those positions, share what you find with others, and vote for who you think will run elections legally and fairly.
Stay informed about election law changes and other related matters through organizations like the Brennan Center for Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union, and consider volunteering to work at polling places.
“If anyone has a question about the way elections are run, they should work a local election,” Manetta said. “Because that is where they get to be a part of the process and they actually get to see the process for themselves to understand how incredibly hard it is to rig the system.
“We all have a right and a duty to be involved in our system, but if you have questions about ‘Is this safe or not?’, go see for yourself.”
Check your voter registration here.
