LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — The same company hired to rebuild Michigan’s campaign finance website is now compensating victims of a widespread cybersecurity breach, deepening scrutiny over the state’s $9.3 million contract.
“This is a disaster.”
Tyler Technologies, the Texas-based firm tasked with launching the Michigan Transparency Network (MiTN), has agreed to settlement terms offering up to $3,500 per person for losses tied to a March 2024 data breach. A federal court is scheduled to hold a final approval hearing on August 21, 2025.
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“The website doesn’t work, and now the company behind it is paying out data breach settlements,” House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) said at a press conference on May 13th. “This is a disaster. And the Secretary of State has been focused on campaigning, not fixing it.”
The settlement includes reimbursement for fraud, identity theft, and time spent addressing the breach, along with credit monitoring and identity protection services.
More website problems.
The breach came just weeks after Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced the launch of the new disclosure platform. More than a year later, the site still does not allow users to search key campaign finance information, including donor names and amounts — a requirement under Michigan law.
The platform’s failure has already drawn criticism from lawmakers, former election officials, and watchdog groups. Now, Tyler Technologies’ growing list of legal troubles is prompting new questions about how the state vetted the contractor in the first place, according to a recent report by The Midwesterner.
“Tyler Technologies … is a mess,” Hall said on May 13th. “Every website they touch is more expensive than promised and never works. And this is who Jocelyn Benson hand-picked to create the campaign finance website and lobbying disclosure website that are not working.”
An investigation looms.
Because of the ongoing problems, Hall announced that the House Oversight Committee will open an investigation into the MiTN contract next week.
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In comments to Bridge Michigan last week, Benson’s office said the project is still underway. “We’re not where we expected to be at this point in the transition,” Benson spokesperson Angela Benander said. “Once we’ve gotten through this bumpy transition, MiTN will be easier for everyone to use and much more transparent than the old system.”
For now, the platform remains offline — and taxpayers remain on the hook.