Bailey v. Antrim Cnty.

• Court: Michigan Supreme Court
• Citation: Bailey v. Antrim Cnty., 982 N.W.2d 175(Mem) (Mich. 2022)
• Decision Date: 09 December 2022
• Docket Number: SC: 164463,COA: 357838
• Parties: William BAILEY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ANTRIM COUNTY, Defendant-Appellee, and Secretary of State, Intervening Defendant-Appellee.

982 N.W.2d 175 (Mem)

William BAILEY, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v. ANTRIM COUNTY, Defendant-Appellee,andSecretary of State, Intervening Defendant-Appellee.

SC: 164463

COA: 357838

Supreme Court of Michigan.

December 9, 2022

Order

On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the April 21, 2022 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.

Viviano, J. (concurring).

I concur in the Court's denial order because I believe the Court of Appeals properly rejected plaintiff's argument that he has a right to conduct an independent audit of election results under Const. 1963, art. 2, § 4 (1)(h). That constitutional provision, which was added in 2018, states that "[e]very citizen of the United States who is an elector qualified to vote in Michigan shall have ... [t]he right to have the results of statewide elections audited, in such a manner as prescribed by law, to ensure the accuracy and integrity of elections." The precise contours of this new audit right are unclear and have never been addressed by this Court. As I have explained in the past, the language of this provision could ensure an audit that facilitates timely challenges to election results or allows for assessments of election procedures that lead to future improvement. Costantino v Detroit , 506 Mich ––––; 950 N.W.2d 707, 711-712 (2020) ( VIVIANO , J., dissenting). The proper interpretation of the audit right represents a significant question that this Court should address. See Johnson v Secretary of State , 506 Mich. 975, 984-985, 951 N.W.2d 310 (2020) ( VIVIANO , J., dissenting); Costantino , 506 Mich at ––––; 950 N.W.2d at 713 ( VIVIANO , J.,...