PRESS RELEASE: Michigan Fair Elections Institute Endorses Model Election Law Handbook
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Michigan Leaders Call for Common-Sense Election Safeguards as Benson-Era Rule Sets Face Challenges
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2026
CONTACT
Melanie Nivelt,
Media Liaison
Michigan Fair Elections Institute
517-420-7978
STOCKBRIDGE, MI — The Michigan Fair Elections Institute (MFEI) today announced its endorsement of the Election Integrity Network’s (EIN) Model Election Laws Handbook, a comprehensive resource providing state legislatures with model statutory language to strengthen election integrity, transparency, and accountability across the nation.
Michigan stands at a pivotal moment in its election law history. With likely legal challenges to Secretary of State Benson’s unilaterally promulgated Rule Sets — including Rule Set 2025-63 ST and the active litigation in People v. Stephanie Scott in Hillsdale Circuit Court — the need for clear, durable, and legislatively enacted election standards has never been more urgent. The Model Election Laws Handbook provides Michigan legislators with the tools to restore that clarity.
The Handbook addresses critical gaps in election law that have left states vulnerable to executive overreach, inconsistent voter roll maintenance, inadequate chain-of-custody protections, and insufficient post-election audit requirements. MFEI has documented many of these vulnerabilities in its landmark 212-page report, Compromised Checkpoints and its 20-page abridged edition, both released in April 2026. The reports analyzed election rulemaking oversight across 24 states and found Michigan was an outlier, ranking last among comparable states.
Michigan voters deserve election laws that are written by their elected representatives — not imposed through administrative rulemaking by a partisan official with a conflict of interest. The Model Election Laws Handbook gives our legislature a proven, nonpartisan framework to restore public confidence in our elections. MFEI is proud to stand with the Election Integrity Network in advancing this effort.”— Patrice Johnson, Chair and Founder, Michigan Fair Elections Institute and Pure Integrity Michigan Elections
The Model Election Laws Handbook covers model statutory language in key areas including voter roll integrity, absentee ballot chain of custody, post-election audit requirements, election equipment certification standards, and the structural independence of state and local election officials. MFEI’s research, including its new MFEI Statistical Analysis of Michigan’s Voter Rolls and its MFEI Investigation of Michigan Elections (MIME), September 2025, directly inform the need for several of the Handbook’s model provisions.
Michigan’s voter roll and election integrity issues, as revealed in our investigative reports, indicate our state ranks at the bottom of key accountability metrics. The Model Election Laws Handbook offers a clear path forward. We urge Michigan’s legislature to take up these model provisions in the 2026 session.” — Dee Davey, Chair, MFEI Oversight Committee
MFEI encourages Michigan legislators, county clerks, and civic leaders to review the Model Election Laws Handbook and to contact MFEI for assistance in evaluating which model provisions are most applicable to Michigan’s current statutory framework. A digital copy of the Handbook and MFEI’s reports are available in the free library at MichiganFairElections.org/library.
About Michigan Fair Elections Institute
The Michigan Fair Elections Institute (MFEI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to election integrity research, public education, and litigation support. MFEI is affiliated with the Election Integrity Network (EIN) and collaborates with state and national partners to advance transparent, accountable, and lawful election administration.
About Election Integrity Network
The Election Integrity Network (EIN) is a national coalition of state-based election integrity organizations working to ensure that American elections are conducted lawfully, transparently, and in accordance with the will of eligible voters.
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