Trump campaign and Republicans challenge Michigan’s voter registration rules

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign, along with the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Michigan, filed a lawsuit in federal court on Monday challenging the state’s voter registration rules.

The lawsuit alleges that Governor Gretchen Whitmer increased the number of voter registration sites without the required approval from the House and did so to benefit Democrats. The governor issued policies that designated the federal offices of the Small Business Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs as voter registration sites.

The lawsuit states: “…harms the Trump campaign, the RNC and the MRP, and their members, voters and candidates, by undermining confidence in the integrity of the electoral process and discouraging participation in the democratic process, which will harm the electoral prospects of Republican candidates.”

“We are reviewing the complaint,” Whitmer communications director Bobby Leddy said in an email.

Mark Brewer, a lawyer and former chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, was less cautious.

“This is part of their overall strategy to create confusion and disruption and make it look like there’s a problem with the election system when there isn’t,” he told the Michigan Public Radio Network. He predicted the lawsuit would be dismissed by a federal judge, although it could be appealed.

“The governor, the secretary of state and the state governments have broad authority under federal and state law to register voters,” he said. “And that’s all it does. It gives people the opportunity to register to vote and participate in democracy.”

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, says the state’s rules undermine confidence in elections, disadvantage Republican candidates and divert resources from the core functions of these offices.

Efforts to conduct interviews with the RNC, the Michigan Republican Party and the Trump campaign were unsuccessful.