AMichigan Court of Claims judge ruled Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s guidance on absentee ballot signature verification violated the state’s constitution and ordered it removed in a final order signed on Tuesday. 

In the ruling, Judge Christopher P. Yates, an appointee of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, reiterated that Benson’s “’initial presumption’ of validity in signature verification of absentee-ballot applications and envelopes mandated by the December 2023 guidance manual issued by defendants is incompatible with the Constitution and laws of the State of Michigan.”