Updates About Elections

Two lawsuits have been filed regarding Former President Donald Trump’s qualifications to be included in Michigan’s presidential ballot in the upcoming 2024 election. The question in both suits surrounds the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which disqualifies anyone who has engaged in insurrection from holding federal office.

Similar suits have been filed in Minnesota and Colorado, attempting to clarify the issue in advance of the 2024 election. It is expected that Judge James Robert Redford will make his decision quickly, but that the issue will be appealed and ultimately decided by the US Supreme Court.

Trump originally attempted to personally intervene in a lawsuit filed by Free Speech for People asking the court to prohibit Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson from including him on Michigan’s presidential ballot, but when denied, he filed his own lawsuit asking the court to require his inclusion on the ballot.

In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the “independent state legislature theory” in Moore v. Harper.

The case stems from North Carolina’s most-recently drawn congressional map, which was argued to be racially gerrymandered. The North Carolina Supreme Court had ruled that the map was in violation of the state’s constitution, but others argued that the independent state legislature theory allowed the map to be valid. This theory asserts that state legislatures have sole authority to establish federal election laws without review by courts or governors.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson issued a statement on the Supreme Court’s decision, stating it was a “victory for Michigan’s citizen-led and voter-enacted independent redistricting process”.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson shared in a press release that Michigan had the highest youth turnout rate in the 2022 Midterm Elections.

According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University (CIRCLE), the Michigan youth voter turnout for the 2022 midterm election was higher than any other state in the nation.

Circle estimated that the national average of eligible young Americans (ages 18-29) who cast a ballot in the 2022 midterm elections was 23%. In Michigan, young people turned out at a rate of 37%.

Four states saw improvement in their youth turnout rates from 2018 to 2022. Michigan was one of the four states who experienced a higher youth turnout in 2022, with the youth turnout rate increasing from 32.7% in 2018 to 36.5% in 2022.

The report noted that states with strong policies to make it easier to register and vote tended to have high youth voter turnout in the 2022 midterm elections. In Michigan, record youth turnout may be attributed to policies such as voter access and education for students, no-excuse absentee voting, and the implementation of online and same-day voter registration.