Once again, Michigan Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson – now campaigning to become the state’s next governor – has landed on the wrong side of an election-integrity fight. The Michigan Court of Claims ruled that absentee ballots with mismatched numbers cannot be counted, a decision that should surprise no one. But Benson, who has consistently pushed for very loose ballot-handling rules, had been fine with letting those questionable ballots slide through the system.

In fact, her official guidance instructed county clerks to count the ballots even when the numbers on the ballot and envelope didn’t match. The ruling shuts that down, reinforcing that accuracy isn’t optional – even when Benson’s preferred voters are involved.

Court of Claims Judge Brock Swartzle said in his decision something that Benson (and all Democratic secretaries of state) need to listen to: “Partisans and pundits will sometimes place election integrity in tension with the right to vote. This is a fallacy, as an election without integrity is as much a danger to a citizen’s vote as would be simply taking away the franchise.”

With judges stepping in to clean up Benson’s election guidance yet again, voters might be wondering how many more “clarifications” of her guidance will happen before next November rolls around.