The clock is ticking on Michigan Democrats’ plans to hold the state’s primary election in February, two weeks earlier than usual in hopes of encouraging political candidates to focus on issues important to voters in the state.
But for that to happen, the state Legislature must adjourn its 2023 session about a month early. That’s because the law authorizing an early primary date doesn’t go into effect until 90 days after the state House and Senate adjourn.
Citizen activist Robert Davis, who is challenging the Feb. 27 date, filed an emergency motion on Friday asking a judge to order the leaders of the state House and Senate to testify to determine when the Legislature plans to adjourn.
According to the Legislature’s website, the House and Senate plan to adjourn between Dec. 19-21, which means 91 days wouldn’t pass before the February primary election date.
Nevertheless, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson continues to tell clerks, political parties, and the media that the election will be held on Feb. 27, which Davis argues is impossible. As recently as Wednesday, Benson said in a live interview on MSNBC that the election was being held in February.
Even if the Legislature adjourns early, Davis argues, it’s already too late to hold the election in February. Davis claims the law that authorizes the early primary election must also go into effect 91 days before the county election boards authorize the printing of absentee and overseas ballots in January.
“In order for them to have the election in February, the legislature would have had to adjourn in September because the legislation can’t be implemented until it goes into effect,” Davis tells Metro Times. “You can’t do anything until the legislation goes into effect.”
Davis alleges Benson is “intentionally misleading” voters and the clerks who must plan the election.
“The secretary of state has made up the rule of law throughout this process,” Davis says. “Now that she has been called out on it, she is trying to double down on her absurd position. She’s not a member of the Legislature. She has no control over when the Legislature will adjourn, so how in the world she is continuing to circulate misinformation is beyond me, and thus it’s necessary to hear from the principals who are going to determine when the Legislature is going to adjourn.”
In response to Davis’s lawsuit, Benson’s attorney acknowledged that the election may not take place until March 12, the second Tuesday of the month, when the primary contest had previously taken place in Michigan.
But Michigan Secretary of State spokesperson Angela Benander tells Metro Times that it’s still not too late to hold the February election. “If the House and Senate adjourn next week, that’s plenty of time for the election to be held in February,” Benander says.
Metro Times couldn’t reach state House Speaker Joe Tate or Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks to confirm whether they plan to adjourn early.
Delaying the primary election until March could have enormous implications for Republicans, who have a crowded field of presidential candidates. If the election is held in March, Republican candidates would likely hold off spending a lot of campaign resources in Michigan until a later date.
In Davis’s lawsuit against the secretary of state, he is also urging a judge to order Benson to remove Trump from the ballot, arguing that the former president violated Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment due to his role in the insurrection on Jan. 6 at the U.S Capitol. The amendment prohibits people who engage in an insurrection from holding elected office.
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