President Joe Biden's effort to compel federal agencies to mobilize favorable voting blocs has encountered another serious setback, this time in Michigan.

Background

The Heritage Foundation's government watchdog Oversight Project revealed via a Blaze News exclusive in May how the dutiful enactment of Biden's Executive Order 14019 could play out as "election interference."

The EO takes for granted that minorities, particularly black people, are disproportionately met today with "significant obstacles" to voting, especially by "voter identification laws and limited opportunities to vote by mail."

To rectify this supposed problem affecting groups that disproportionately vote Democrat, Biden suggested it is critical that his administration enmesh itself more fully in the election process and compelled federal agencies to "consider ways to expand citizens' opportunities to register to vote and to obtain information about, and participate in, the electoral process."

Mike Howell, executive director of the Oversight Project, previously pointed out to Blaze News how Demos, a leftist think tank whose 2020 recommendations to the Biden administration ostensibly inspired EO 14019, boasted that the so-called "BidenBucks" scheme could bring in as many as 3 million new voter registrations per year.

Even though Biden's decrepitude has hurt him in the polls in the aftermath of his disastrous debate with President Donald Trump, millions of votes in critical swing states could nevertheless tip the election in his favor.

'The Biden administration’s desperation to unfairly and illegally win the election knows no bounds.'

Besides exposing various agencies' strategic plans, the Oversight Project highlighted three ways states could derail the scheme: Pass laws attacking the application of the order with regard to presidential elections; frustrate the scheme with complaints about possible Hatch Act violations; and remove or attack designations of federal agencies to act under the National Voter Registration Act that were not provided by the state or were provided without appropriate authority.

Some Republicans were apparently paying attention.

Fighting back

Earlier this month, Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales (R) revealed he had taken action accordingly, informing federal agencies and departments active in his state that they were prohibited from engaging in voter registration and other election activities without state authorization.

Morales noted in a letter to the various EO-guided agencies in Indiana, "If your agency has been distributing voter registration forms or assisting the public with voter registration or absentee voting forms, you are requested to discontinue such action immediately, as the unauthorized conduct of such activity is likely violative of Indiana and federal law."

"States know best when it comes to our elections," Morales wrote on X. "We don't need federal government overreach to run safe, secure elections!"

Last week, the America First Policy Institute, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R), Republican Texas Reps. Ronny Jackson and Beth Van Duyne, and others filed a lawsuit against Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and several other big names in the Democratic administration over the EO, claiming Biden and his cabinet officials "have usurped States' role in registering voters and redirected federal resources to partisan voter mobilization efforts, in violation of federal law."

Echoing many of the concerns raised by the Oversight Project, the complaint noted that Biden's "EO and its implementing agency actions violate federal law, including multiple violations of the Administrative Procedure Act."

It also emphasized that the EO unconstitutionally expands the federal government's role in elections.

"The Biden administration’s desperation to unfairly and illegally win the election knows no bounds," Rep. Jackson said in a statement. "Instead of instilling policies that Americans want and need, they turn to the well-oiled D.C. swamp filled to the brim with deep state loyalists to illegally register voters in an attempt to help them win."

LaRose noted, "This is a cynical attempt to turn government agencies into a Democratic turnout machine, and it's wrong. That's why I'm joining this lawsuit and working to hold the administration accountable."

Taking Whitmer to court

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and her administration appear especially keen to help see through Biden's initiative.

The Oversight Project indicated that the U.S. Small Business Administration announced an agreement with the Michigan Department of State to aid in the realization of Biden's EO.

That's particularly troubling given that Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's poor track record when it comes to elections. A court determined in 2021 that she violated state law by unilaterally altering absentee voting rules ahead of the 2020 election. She also worked closely with Mark Zuckerberg-funded groups to influence state elections in 2019.

The Trump campaign, the Michigan Republican Party, and the Republican National Convention sued the Biden administration, Whitmer, and Benson on Monday over the "BidenBucks" scheme.

The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan accused Whitmer of issuing an executive directive in December to designate several state and federal agencies as voter registration agencies — including the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs — despite lacking the legislative authorization to do so.

'This is an illegal attempt by Biden, Whitmer, Benson, and the party in power to manipulate our country's most important election.'

The lawsuit indicated further that Benson, who similarly lacks such authorization, did likewise, designating various Small Business Administration offices throughout the state VRAs.

"Because these unauthorized actions do not represent lawful designations by the State of Michigan for purposes of Section 7 of the NVRA, the designated VA and SBA offices are not lawfully operating as VRAs under federal law," said the complaint.

The Oversight Project previously indicated that the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 provides that federal and nongovernmental offices can only "engage in the type of activities directed by the Executive Order if a state 'designate[s]' that office to act as a voter registration agency."

The plaintiffs are seeking a "permanent injunction barring the State Defendants from designating any VRAs without express authorization from the Michigan Legislature."

RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement, "The federal government should not be using American taxpayers' dollars to conduct unauthorized voter registration activities."

"This is an illegal attempt by Biden, Whitmer, Benson, and the party in power to manipulate our country's most important election," continued Whatley. "We are committed to stopping this election integrity violation and securing our elections."

The Oversight Project said of the lawsuit, "The exposure of the 'BidenBucks' scheme to turn the entire Federal government into President @JoeBiden campaign's get-out-the-vote is in legal jeopardy."

A spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of State told Blaze News in a statement, "It is unfortunate that this divisive, partisan lawsuit was filed yesterday. Making it easier for veterans and small business owners in Michigan to register to vote should not be controversial."

The spokeswoman added, "We will review this and any other litigation that comes our way but remain committed to ensuring that every Michigan voter has the tools and resources they need to participate in every election."

Blaze News also reached out to the governor's office but did not immediately receive a response.

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