Voting Rights

• Miller Canfield attorneys, with the Brennan Center for Justice, filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's authority to mail absentee ballot applications to all registered voters. Her authority to do so was challenged in three cases filed in Michigan state courts. Michigan voters approved, by more than a 2-1 margin, a 2018 ballot proposal to allow no-excuse absentee voting. Brennan Center for Justice and Miller Canfield stated that mailing applications for absentee ballots was consistent with the Michigan Constitution and state election law and promotes safe elections during this unprecedented public health threat. The Michigan Court of Appeals adopted several of the amicus positions, citing the Secretary of State's supervisory authority over local election officials and Michigan's Constitution, which says that the right to vote absentee for any reason "shall be liberally construed." In November 2020, 57% of Michigan voters exercised their right to vote by mail.
• The firm took a leading role in coordinating 14 firms nationwide to produce state-specific poll worker guides on behalf of the Brennan Center for Justice, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, and the Association of Pro Bono Counsel. Poll workers are essential to the voting process. When states are unable to attract and hire qualified candidates, polling places suffer. There are long lines and misinformation. Failure to follow procedures leads to disqualification of ballots. This project focused on encouraging qualified candidates to apply for the critical job of working at the polls on Election Day. In 2020, we also helped lead a project with several law firms and the Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project to encourage lawyers and law students nationwide to be poll workers on Election Day.