Michigan officials are speaking out after demands from the Department of Justice for Wayne County’s 2024 voter data.
Last week, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon sent a letter to Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett demanding election materials from 2024, including ballots, receipts, and envelopes. The letter said due to an alleged history of voter fraud in the county, the DOJ needed to ensure no election laws were violated in the last presidential election.
The letter highlighted a 2020 lawsuit against Wayne County and the city of Detroit alleging voter fraud, which was dismissed by a Wayne County judge. The letter also highlighted previous convictions of election fraud in the county, which state officials say did not occur during the 2024 election.
Dhillon gave the clerk’s office 14 days to respond with the requested documents.
In a joint statement, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and Attorney General Dana Nessel criticized the Justice Department's demands.
“Michigan’s elections are safe and secure, and any attempt to suggest otherwise is an attempt to take away Michiganders’ constitutional right to vote,” Whitmer said. “More than 1,600 locally elected clerks across Michigan ensure that every citizen can vote and have their vote counted.”
“We won’t be intimidated by these tactics. We stand with Wayne County to ensure we protect the integrity of our elections and the privacy of Michigan voters. And we are ready to do the same with any other Michigan clerks DOJ threatens in this way,” Benson said.
“Once again, President Trump is weaponizing the Justice Department in an attempt to sabotage our democratic process and turn it into his own personal agency to interfere in state elections. This request is as absurd as it is baseless,” said Nessel.
Nessel also sent a letter to Dhillon in response, saying the demands were made on the basis of false claims about election security in Wayne County.
