Michigan refuses Trump administration demand for 2024 election ballots

Michigan officials on Sunday pushed back on a U.S. Department of Justice demand for Detroit-area ballots and other materials related to the 2024 election, accusing the Trump administration of trying to cast doubt on the integrity of U.S. elections.



The Justice Department last week sent a letter demanding ballots, ballot receipts and ballot envelopes to the clerk in Wayne County, home to the heavily Democratic-leaning city of Detroit, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.



Nessel's office released the DOJ's letter, authored by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, along with a reply vowing to fight the request.



"This request is as absurd as it is baseless,” Nessel said in a joint statement with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.



"If this administration wants to bring this circus to our state, my office is prepared to protect the people's right to vote.”



Nessel, Whitmer and Benson are Democrats. President Donald Trump, a Republican, has long pushed the false claim that his 2020 election defeat to Democratic President Joe Biden was the result of widespread voter fraud. Dhillon's letter focuses on 2024's elections, arguing they too need scrutiny.