Absentee ballots returned to election officials by mail, which have missing or mismatched ballot stubs, can still be counted, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled, reversing an earlier court ruling.
A three-judge state Court of Appeals panel issued its ruling on Friday, June 26, saying the state Legislature “did not prohibit election inspectors from tabulating absent-voter ballots with missing or mismatched stubs” and the courts cannot do so now.
The decision reverses a ruling made in the Court of Claims in December 2025 in a case brought by the Republican National Committee, the state Republican Party and Chesterfield Township Clerk Cindy Berry. The Court of Appeals also found the Court of Claims overstepped its authority in imposing a 10-point process for handling absentee ballots with missing or mismatched stubs.
The suit, which was filed in 2024, deals with a detachable stub with a unique identifying number attached to ballots that are mailed to absentee voters and the return envelopes, to be used by voters in sending the ballots back, which also includes the number as a security measure.
The suit was filed in opposition to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s guidance to local clerks and election officials that if the stub is missing or does not match the number on the envelope, the ballot be processed as a challenged ballot, meaning the fault is noted to create a record that can later be resolved but is still tabulated.
Court of Appeals Judge Brock Swartzle, sitting as chief judge of the Court of Claims, ruled for the Republican groups, saying the ballot could not be counted. Benson’s office appealed.
Benson said the court “decisively rejected baseless claims about our process and policy for mail ballots” and the decision “affirms that the voice of every Michigan voter matters, striking a strong blow against the RNC’s ongoing project to undermine faith in Michigan’s secure elections.”
The decision continues a string of legal victories for Benson, who is running as a Democrat for governor this year, over Republican demands; on June 24, a federal appeals court sided with her in a decision saying she didn’t have to turn over detailed voter information to the Trump administration. It also comes as President Donald Trump is pushing for the federal government to have a much broader role in determining how mail-in ballots are processed, though the Constitution gives the executive branch no role in regulating elections.
State Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose office represented Benson’s office, said the Republican lawsuit “was just another tactic by Republicans to bully clerks, suppress votes and disrupt our elections.” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer added that the Court of Appeals decision will help clerks “continue to do their jobs and give Michiganders the confidence that their votes can be cast and counted.”
The state Republican Party did not immediately return a request for comment on Saturday, June 27.
Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on X @tsspangler.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: State Court of Appeals reverses Republican win on absentee ballot stubs
Reporting by Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
