DOJ demands 865K Detroit ballots, threatening possible legal action

By Fox News · Fox News

Michigan is among states doubling down on rejecting Trump administration investigations and oversight into elections, claiming protection of the right to vote, potentially setting up a battle that could escalate to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Justice Department is demanding roughly 865,000 ballots and hundreds of thousands of related election records from the Detroit area’s 2024 election, threatening to seek a court order if the materials are not turned over within 14 days. In an April 14 letter to Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon asked for "all ballots (including absentee and provisional), ballot receipts, and ballot envelopes" from the November 2024 federal election, saying the department was acting under federal records-retention law and investigating whether election laws were followed. Dhillon wrote that the request was based on a "history of fraud convictions and other allegations" in Wayne County and warned that failure to comply "may result in the United States seeking a court order for production of such records." FEDERAL JUDGE REJECTS TRUMP ADMIN LAWSUIT SEEKING MICHIGAN VOTER ROLLS "Here @theJusticeDept, ensuring election integrity is a paramount duty," Dhillon wrote Sunday on X, sharing the video of her appearance on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria Bartiromo. "Many states fail to clean noncitizen & deceased people from their voter rolls, and under my leadership, @CivilRights will continue working to ensure that ONLY eligible American citizens vote in our elections!" Dhillon added her investigations seek to "ensure accountability for the outrageous weaponization of the deep state against President Trump and his team." "It must never be repeated!" she concluded. WITHIN MINUTES OF TRUMP SIGNING VOTER DATABASE ORDER, DEM STATES THREATEN LAWSUITS The demand marks the latest step in a broader push by the Trump administration to scrutinize election procedures in key swing states after earlier mov…