State Rep. Rachelle Smit, R-Martin, on Friday released the following statement after the Michigan Department of State (MDOS) announced it would refuse to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Oversight Committee for election training materials. MDOS said it would not release “sensitive information,” even though the same information is regularly distributed to clerks across Michigan:
“The Secretary of State can whine about our subpoena all she wants, but the law is the law, and she can’t choose to just ignore us because that’s more convenient for her. We have a responsibility to ensure she’s doing the right things and properly training our clerks.
“If a teacher assigns a student homework with a clear due date, that student can complain and procrastinate all they want. But that deadline is still coming whether they like it or not. Homework is due Tuesday, Secretary Benson.”
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“I’m disappointed the court-ordered mediation did not yield a positive result last week,” said Smit, R-Martin. “Secretary Benson continues to withhold the training materials she hands down to clerks. Chair DeBoyer and I were both clerks; we both agree that these documents need to be turned over to the Legislature so we can ensure our elections are being run effectively and in a non-partisan way.”
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