Alleged failures by election officials to ensure partisan parity among the election inspectors; Claims for declaratory relief & a writ of mandamus under MCL 168.674(2); Standing; Lansing Sch Educ Ass’n v Lansing Bd of Educ

In an order in lieu of granting leave to appeal, the court reversed the Court of Appeals judgment (see eJournal # 81183 in the 3/11/24 edition for the published opinion) and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings. It held that plaintiffs-Michigan Republican Party and Republican National Committee had “standing to challenge the partisan parity of election inspectors under MCL 168.674(2)[.]” Plaintiffs sought declaratory relief and a “writ of mandamus under MCL 168.674(2)1 for alleged failures by election officials to ensure partisan parity among the election inspectors in Flint during the 2022 election. The trial court granted defendants summary disposition” based on lack of standing, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. The court found that there was “ample support for the conclusion that plaintiffs have standing to pursue their claim through their ‘special injury or right, or substantial interest, that will be detrimentally affected in a manner different from the citizenry at large[.]’” The court agreed with the Court of Appeals dissent that “if the Court of Appeals majority’s reasoning is taken to its logical conclusion, then it is possible that no one, including the county chairs of major political parties, would have authority to challenge the parity requirement under MCL 168.674 or MCL 168.765a. More importantly, given the role of major political parties, such as plaintiff, in the electoral process through their affiliated inspectors and under Michigan’s election laws, these parties have a unique interest in ensuring the fair and equal treatment of party-affiliated candidates during voting and the counting of ballots, which is fulfilled through party-affiliated election inspectors.” Thus, the court concluded that plaintiffs were “entitled to proceed with their claims in the trial court.”