LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf’s scrutiny of Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office is expanding on two fronts – from questions about Benson’s own gubernatorial ballot paperwork to a whistleblower investigation involving the state’s voter-registration system.

Leaf recently called on Benson and Bureau of Elections Director Jonathan Brater to examine whether Benson truthfully certified her campaign-finance compliance when she filed to run for governor. “The statute does not contain a Secretary of State exception,” Leaf wrote in a letter to them on September 1.

MORE NEWS: Anthony Hudson’s Running Mate Faces Felony Charge

Michigan law requires an Affidavit of Identity to include a signed and notarized statement that all required campaign-finance reports, late fees and fines involving the candidate or the candidate’s committees have been filed or paid. The law also says officials may not certify a candidate whose affidavit contains a false statement regarding required information.

The $50 Question – And $5,050 More

The controversy stems from a lawsuit filed by Highland Park activist Robert Davis, who alleges Benson submitted a false Affidavit of Identity when qualifying for the gubernatorial ballot.

Davis alleges a $50 late fee assessed against Benson’s former secretary of state committee in 2015 was improperly paid with committee funds rather than by Benson personally. He also points to four 2019 late fees totaling $5,050 and alleges public records do not show payment of two assessments totaling $2,350.

The allegations have not been proven.

Leaf is asking the Bureau of Elections to produce its ledger showing assessments and payments involving Benson’s committees, along with Benson’s date-stamped 2026 Affidavit of Identity.
If everything was properly paid before Benson signed the affidavit, Leaf argues the state should document it. If not, he says the same ballot rules that are applied to other candidates should apply to Benson.

Whistleblower Investigation Takes New Turn

Meanwhile, Leaf says his office has uncovered new evidence while investigating a separate whistleblower allegation involving the Michigan Department of State.

MORE NEWS: ‘I Have to Stay’: 25 Years Later, Michigan Remembers Its 42 Victims of 9/11

As Michigan News Source previously reported, Leaf said a confidential informant working within the Secretary of State’s office alleged that the state’s Customer and Automotive Records System, or CARS, was automatically registering noncitizens to vote when they changed their addresses. Leaf referred the allegations to the federal government.

Now Leaf says his office has located an actual noncitizen whose experience appears consistent with the whistleblower’s allegation.

According to Leaf’s latest statement, the individual has spent years pursuing U.S. citizenship and more than $20,000 in legal fees. Leaf said the person told investigators they never attempted to register to vote and never completed an attestation stating they were eligible to vote.

Yet, according to Leaf, the individual said they had received election mail and ballots from the state for years. More significantly, Leaf said his office confirmed with the federal government that the noncitizen has an active Michigan voter registration.

“This is unlawful, and my office has provided this new evidence to the federal government,” Leaf said. The video post does not identify the individual or provide the underlying voter record, so Michigan News Source cannot independently verify Leaf’s claim from his statement alone.

Two Election Questions, One State Office

The two controversies are legally separate. One concerns Benson’s compliance with candidate filing requirements; the other concerns allegations about how Michigan’s voter-registration system handles noncitizens under her leadership.

But both now have Leaf asking the same basic question of the Secretary of State’s office: Are Michigan’s election laws and safeguards being followed as written?