LANSING, Mich. — Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt on Monday strongly backed the U.S. Department of Justice’s demand to review over 865,000 ballots and election records from Wayne County while hammering state Democrat officials for their efforts to obstruct the federal probe.
“For years, Democrat officials in Lansing have gaslit the public and fought tooth and nail against any basic measure of transparency in our elections,” said Nesbitt, R-Porter Township. “If Gretchen Whitmer and Dana Nessel truly believed the election processes in Wayne County were flawless, they would welcome this Justice Department review with open arms instead of hiding behind frantic legal threats. You don’t stonewall investigators and hide hundreds of thousands of ballots unless there is something you’re worried they will find.”
The DOJ recently issued a 14-day deadline for Detroit and Wayne County officials to turn over ballots, receipts and envelopes related to the 2024 federal election, citing a history of allegations and the paramount duty to ensure election integrity. In response, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel have publicly resisted the effort, threatening noncompliance.
Nesbitt emphasized that the DOJ’s necessary intervention in Wayne County illustrates why he has repeatedly called for federal authorities to proactively step in and monitor Michigan’s upcoming elections.
“This is exactly why I have continually urged the Department of Justice to establish full, rigorous federal oversight of Michigan’s 2026 elections,” Nesbitt said. “The people of Michigan deserve absolute, unshakable confidence that their votes are legally cast and accurately counted. The partisan machine running Detroit’s elections has shown it cannot be trusted to police itself. It’s time to pull back the curtain, secure the voter rolls, and ensure that the 2026 elections are free from the incompetence and shadowy practices that have plagued Wayne County for far too long.”
In November, Nesbitt and 21 Republican legislators sent a letter to the U.S. attorney general formally requesting DOJ oversight for the state’s 2026 primary and general elections.
