LANSING, Mich. — A group of 22 Michigan Republican lawmakers has asked President Donald Trump's U.S. Department of Justice to deploy monitors to vote-counting facilities and to provide general oversight for the state's upcoming elections in 2026.

In a letter sent Thursday to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, the GOP legislators said their concerns centered on the fact that Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the state's chief election official, will help manage the August and November 2026 elections while "simultaneously appearing on the ballot as a candidate for governor."

"This creates an inherent and unavoidable conflict of interest, as Secretary Benson will be administering an election in which she has a direct personal stake in the outcome," the Republican lawmakers wrote. "Such a situation risks compromising the impartiality required for fair election oversight and demands external federal scrutiny to maintain public trust."

However, secretaries of state, from both parties, have regularly supervised elections in which they were on the ballot as candidates in the past.

The unusual request for federal intervention came ahead of what will be a pivotal election in the battleground state. Next year, voters in Michigan will select a new governor, a new secretary of state, a new attorney general and a new U.S. senator. Likewise, every seat in the state Legislature will be up for grabs.

Angela Benander, spokeswoman for Benson, a second-term secretary of state, said the Republican lawmakers were using "dangerous, false rhetoric to encourage President Trump to illegally interfere in our state’s ability to hold fair and free elections."

"They are aligning with the administration’s ongoing efforts to manufacture crises in order to justify ongoing federal overreach that puts our citizens’ privacy, safety and freedoms in danger," Benander said in a statement. "This department and Secretary Benson will continue to stand up to these efforts to silence the voices and trample the rights of all Michiganders."

Other Democrats and some election officials also slammed the Republicans' letter. They noted that Michigan's elections are conducted on the ground by hundreds of clerks across the state and results are certified by bipartisan canvassing boards.

Barb Byrum, the clerk for Ingham County and a Democratic candidate for secretary of state, labeled the request "a partisan attack against a political opponent rather than a genuine concern for the integrity of our elections."

Likewise, Chris Thomas, Michigan's former longtime elections director who worked under both Republicans and Democrats, said the type of widespread federal oversight the GOP lawmakers were seeking would be unprecedented in Michigan. If there was a real concern, a neutral organization should provide the oversight, Thomas said.

"The current Department of Justice is just really a political operation," Thomas said.

Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, a Republican who's also a candidate for governor, led the letter to Bondi on Thursday.

The letter noted the U.S. Department of Justice sued Benson in September, saying her office had failed to fulfill a demand for information on the state's registered voter list.

"We urge the DOJ to deploy personnel to observe polling places, absentee ballot processing, voter registration activities and central count facilities across Michigan," the GOP lawmakers wrote. "Such oversight will help ensure adherence to federal laws, prevent irregularities and restore faith in our democratic processes."

Local election officials, not Benson, run polling places, absentee ballot processing facilities and vote counting facilities in Michigan.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice declined to comment on the lawmakers' request. However, the department said it was going to monitor polling sites in New Jersey and California for the Nov. 4, 2025, general election.

Among the lawmakers who signed onto the Michigan letter were Republican Sen. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, a former secretary of state, GOP Rep. Rachelle Smit, R-Martin, chairwoman of the House Election Integrity Committee, and Sen. Jim Runestad, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party.

Johnson was the secretary of state from 2011 through 2018. She successfully ran for the state Senate in the 2018 election while she was secretary of state.

Similarly, Republican Candice Miller was secretary of state from 1995 through 2002. Miller successfully ran for the U.S. House in 2002.

Democrat Richard Austin was secretary of state from 1971 through 1994. In 1976, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate.

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