ICYMI: Detroit News Op-Ed — “Monitors Don’t Threaten Michigan’s Elections”

“…the ‘federal oversight’ being requested is limited to monitoring, not federal control of Michigan’s election system. A DOJ takeover of state or local election administration would be unlawful.”

In case you missed it, The Detroit News ran a noteworthy op-ed his week authored by Kent County Clerk and former Michigan House Elections Chair Lisa Posthumus Lyons, highlighting a key point that often gets lost in the noise: federal election monitors are not new, not alarming, and not a threat to Michigan’s election system.

Lyons pushes back on the latest flare-up in Lansing – Republican legislators asking DOJ to send monitors in 2026 – and reminds readers that Democratic and Republican administrations alike have deployed monitors for decades, including in Michigan in 2022 and 2024. She notes that a DOJ takeover of elections “would be unlawful,” and what truly matters in this moment is that everyone involved in the process – voters, workers, challengers, and yes, federal monitors – follow the law, respect the process, and safeguard the rights of all voters.

Lyons also underscores why she has lent her expertise to RightCount: because restoring trust in elections requires education, transparency, and participation – not political theatrics.

Monitors Don’t Threaten Michigan’s Elections* By Lisa Posthumus Lyons | December 1, 2025

The latest political dust-up in Lansing, Republican legislators asking the U.S. Department of Justice to deploy federal election monitors in 2026, is generating headlines. However, the rhetoric is getting ahead of reality. DOJ election monitors aren’t unprecedented, and they certainly aren’t alarming. Biden’s DOJ deployed monitors in Michigan in 2022 and 2024, including in Kent County. I didn’t oppose their presence then. Democrats shouldn’t oppose it now.

What matters is the same thing I expect of anyone participating in our elections, from voters and election workers to challengers and federal monitors: follow the law, respect the process, and safeguard the rights of everyone involved.

After reading the legislators’ letter, it’s clear that the “federal oversight” being requested is limited to monitoring, not federal control of Michigan’s election system. A DOJ takeover of state or local election administration would be unlawful.

Republican legislators made a political request for federal monitors, something within their right to do and no different in substance from what occurred by Democrat and Republican-led DOJ’s going back decades. The media is amplifying it. And the Left is sensationalizing it to spark outrage and score its own political points in an election year.

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According to a recent national survey by Ipsos, 75% of registered voters said the 2024 election was legitimate and accurate, compared to 58% after the 2020 election. Republican confidence surged from 26% in 2020 to 91% in 2024, a 65-point increase. However, nearly 40% of Democrats, whose candidate lost the 2024 presidential race, aren’t willing to say the same.

These results emphasize a deeply damaging pattern: voters are more likely to trust elections only when their preferred candidate wins. Misinformation and hyperbole can fuel suspicion and compromise confidence in elections. Education, transparency, and participation are the keys to building public trust. That’s why I’ve lent my expertise and leadership to RightCount, an entity committed to restoring trust in our elections.

We must always work to improve our system, but Michigan’s election process works. Checks and balances throughout the process help ensure security, accuracy, and integrity.

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To read Lyons’s op-ed in its entirety, click here.