Michigan Refuses Trump Administration Demand for 2024 Election Ballots

Source: US News & World Report/Reuters

April 19, 2026, at 7:21 p.m.


NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters) - Michigan officials on Sunday ⁠pushed ⁠back on a U.S. Department of ⁠Justice demand for Detroit-area ballots and other materials related to the 2024 election, ​accusing the Trump administration of trying to cast doubt on the integrity of U.S. elections.

The Justice Department last week sent ‌a letter demanding ballots, ballot receipts ‌and ballot envelopes to the clerk in Wayne County, home to the heavily Democratic-leaning city of Detroit, according to ⁠Michigan Attorney ⁠General Dana Nessel. Nessel's office released the DOJ's letter, authored by Assistant Attorney General ​Harmeet Dhillon, along with a reply vowing to fight the request.

"This request is as absurd as it is baseless,” Nessel said in a joint statement with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. "If this administration wants to bring ​this circus to our state, my office is prepared to protect the people’s right to vote.”

Nessel, Whitmer and ⁠Benson ⁠are Democrats. President Donald Trump, a ⁠Republican, has long ​pushed the false claim that his 2020 election defeat to Democratic President Joe Biden was the result ​of widespread voter fraud. Dhillon's letter ⁠focuses on 2024's elections, arguing they too need scrutiny. The DOJ confirmed the letter's authenticity in response to a Reuters request but did not provide further comment.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2026-04-19/michigan-refuses-trump-administration-demand-for-2024-election-ballots