Michigan House panel authorizes subpoena for secretary of state's election training materials

Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News on Apr 15, 2025

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LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan House Oversight Committee authorized the issuance of a subpoena Tuesday for election training materials provided to Michigan clerks by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's office.

The subpoena, the first issued by the oversight panel since House Republicans came into power in January, comes after months of back and forth between Benson, a Detroit Democrat, and state Rep. Rachelle Smit, a Republican from Allegan County and former township clerk who chairs the House Elections Integrity Committee.

State Rep. Jay DeBoyer, chairman for the House Oversight Committee, said Tuesday that the Secretary of State's office had been "unacceptably difficult" in providing the information requested.

"The Michigan House of Representatives has the right to know how Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is instructing local election officials to conduct the elections within this state," DeBoyer said in moving for authorization Tuesday.

Smit first requested the records late last year, then again as committee chair.

“We’re not talking about state secrets here; these are just basic election training materials regularly provided to Michigan clerks,” Smit said in a statement after the committee vote. “Secretary Benson had five months and ample opportunities to be transparent and work with us to strengthen our election systems. She refused, leaving us with no choice but to issue a subpoena.”

The Tuesday motion passed with nine Republicans supporting, six Democrats opposing and one Democrat abstaining from the vote.

Benson, who is running for governor in 2026, has released a portion of the documents and said she'd have to review the remaining materials for sensitive information that should be redacted. More than 500 items were withheld to be reviewed and sensitive security information redacted, according to a database of the withheld documents provided by Benson's office.

Smit has asked instead for read-only access to the e-learning portal to review the entirety of the training materials.

In a letter to Smit and DeBoyer, Benson's office said Thursday it would provide materials, after a review, on a "rolling basis," with an initial batch available on April 30.

"(The Secretary of State's office) maintains a secure portal for election clerks which contains sensitive training materials regarding the cyber security and physical security of election systems and election machines," Monday's letter from the department's chief legal director, Khyla Craine, said. "This limited access is critical to ensure the ongoing integrity of our election systems and thereby the integrity of our elections; therefore, read access login credentials will not be provided."

The committee also voted to adopt panel rules surrounding the subpoena process and allowing the committee to conduct depositions outside of public meetings.

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