Michigan Court Blocks Pollbook Deletion as Clerk Faces Recall

The Michigan Court of Claims ruled in McQueer v. Benson that a rule established by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson requiring the deletion of electronic pollbooks after one week was invalid. The court determined that the rule conflicted with state law requiring records be kept for 22 months, ordering that pollbook files and metadata be preserved on encrypted flash drives.

In a separate election-related action, the Michigan Bureau of Elections suspended Antrim County Clerk Victoria Bishop from accessing state voter rolls. The state found that Bishop attempted to remove more than 1,600 registered voters by bypassing municipal clerks and sending postcards threatening registration cancellation, including to voters who had not moved.

The Bureau of Elections revoked Bishop's access and reinstated the affected voters before the 2026 midterm elections. Bishop now faces a bipartisan recall effort. Republican candidate for attorney general Kevin Kijewski celebrated the court's decision regarding the preservation of pollbook records.