Lansing, Michigan – In Michigan’s long-running fight over election rules, a small paper stub became the center of a much larger question: should an absent-voter ballot be counted when the voter is eligible, but the ballot’s identifying stub is missing or does not match?
The Michigan Court of Appeals answered that question Friday by reversing and vacating a Court of Claims decision that had blocked the tabulation of certain absent-voter ballots. The appellate court ruled that Michigan law does not prohibit election workers from counting absent-voter ballots returned with missing or mismatched ballot stubs, according to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.
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The decision marks a major win for Attorney General Dana Nessel, who appealed the lower court’s order on behalf of the Secretary of State and the Director of Elections. It also removes a complicated 10-step “cure” process that the Court of Claims had imposed for ballots with stub problems.
The case began in September 2024, when the Republican National Committee, Michigan Republican Party and Chesterfield Township Clerk Cindy Berry sued over the Secretary of State’s 2024 guidance. That guidance told election inspectors to process absent-voter ballots with missing or mismatched stubs as challenged ballots if the issue could not be explained, rather than simply rejecting them.
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The plaintiffs argued the instructions violated state law and said those ballots should not be counted. In December 2025, the Court of Claims agreed in part, finding that election inspectors did not have the authority to tabulate the ballots and ordering the new cure procedure.
The Court of Appeals rejected that reading. It found that the Court of Claims wrongly interpreted the statute and said the Secretary of State’s instructions did not conflict with Michigan law. The appellate court also said the lower court abused its discretion by adopting the plaintiffs’ proposed 10-step procedure without making the required legal findings.
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“Every eligible voter deserves a voice in our democracy, and this lawsuit was just another tactic by Republicans to bully clerks, suppress votes, and disrupt our elections,” Nessel said. “I am relieved that the Court of Appeals saw through this stunt and struck down a burdensome hurdle for our local election workers.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also praised the ruling, saying Michigan elections are “safe and secure” and that the decision will help clerks continue their work while giving voters confidence that ballots can be cast and counted.
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For Nessel, the ruling capped what her office described as its fourth election-related victory of the week, including wins involving federal control over state elections, sensitive voter information and President Donald Trump’s March 2025 elections executive order.