The U.S. Department of Justice on April 14 demanded that Michigan’s Wayne County turn over all ballots from the 2024 presidential election, marking an expansion of federal election record requests to swing states that Trump won. Harmeet K. Dhillon, head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, justified the demand by citing three instances of fraudulent votes in 2020 and a civil lawsuit over absentee ballot processing.
Michigan officials immediately contested the move. Attorney General Dana Nessel called it “weaponizing the Justice Department” and “an attempt to interfere in state elections.” Governor Gretchen Whitmer said the demand “is a poorly disguised attempt to justify more doubt and misinformation about our elections as well as direct federal interference.”
The request marks an expansion of federal election access efforts, with the Trump administration now demanding records from the 2024 election—a year Trump won—after earlier seeking 2020 materials from Georgia and Arizona.
The demand and state objections
The April 14 demand for 2024 ballots marks a shift in federal pressure on state election records. Earlier this year, the DOJ and FBI demanded 2020 materials from Georgia and Arizona—states Trump lost. Now the Trump administration is seeking 2024 records from Michigan, a state it won, suggesting federal interest extends beyond the prior presidential election.
Michigan officials raised several objections to the demand. The three fraud cases Dhillon cited had already been prosecuted by state authorities, and a judge had dismissed the related civil lawsuit, finding allegations of fraudulent conduct “incorrect and not credible.” Nessel noted the incidents occurred six years ago and remain rare in Michigan elections.
The demand also posed a structural problem. It was addressed to Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett, but ballots are held by 43 separate local clerks throughout the county. A single county official cannot unilaterally comply with a request affecting materials held across dozens of jurisdictions.
Expanding federal election scrutiny
The Michigan demand is part of a broader federal push for election records that accelerated earlier this year. In January, the FBI, armed with a federal judge’s search warrant, seized 2020 materials from Fulton County, Georgia. In March, a grand jury subpoena compelled the Arizona state Senate to turn over records related to the contested 2020 election audit in Maricopa County.
Michigan’s Democratic leadership has characterized the demand as part of a pattern of federal overreach aimed at undermining confidence in state elections. Nessel said her office is “prepared to protect the people’s right to vote” should the Trump administration press the matter further. The state has 14 days to respond to the federal demand before the DOJ could seek a court order to enforce it.