Conservative lawmakers in Lansing, including several members of the Michigan Freedom Caucus, announced a lawsuit that will protect election integrity against recent state constitutional amendments they believe are unlawful.

Plaintiffs Rep. Steve Carra and Sen. Jonathan Lindsey are among the state lawmakers suing to overturn amendments to the Michigan State Constitution that they argue have usurped the lawful powers of the legislature and violate the U.S. Constitution. They appeared on a Zoom conference to explain the measure with representatives from Mohrman, Kaardal & Erickson, a Minnesota-based law firm who is spearheading this election integrity lawsuit.

“This lawsuit is about preserving the proper role of the legislative branch of government,” Lindsey said.

“I have made it clear for years that good elections are a critical issue. Safe, accessible, fair elections are something the people deserve. Unfortunately we have a concerted effort to diminish the security of our elections, and the results have been disastrous with record numbers of people believing our elections are not secure,” Lindsey continued, noting that this lawsuit is meant to restore faith in the voting process.

“When you have millions of dollars flowing in from other states in order to deceive the voters, it creates a problem preventing us from having the best elections we can in our state,” said Carra, who serves as Chairman of the Michigan Freedom Caucus. Carra noted that Proposal 2 passed in 2022 with voters being deceived that the measure was a pro-voter ID reform when it actually banned voter ID requirements.

“It’s important for everyone to understand just how vital this case is for making rules about elections,” said attorney Erick Kaardal, who is representing the lawmakers suing to protect election integrity.

“These state legislators have to be involved and take a vote and these constitutional amendments do not go through that process,” he continued, adding that this is an “important civil rights case” because the amendments violate federal law and undermine a fair voting process.

“People have been violating civil rights to promote voting rights, and that’s a disaster… You can’t cheat the state legislature out of its role,” Kaardal said.

Lindsey, Carra and Kaardal made it clear that the goal is to overturn the proposals passed in 2018 and 2022, or at least get rid of the most onerous provisions from those Democrat-led measures.

Carra and Lindsey are joined as plantiffs in the lawsuit by fellow Michigan Freedom Caucus members Joseph Fox, Rachelle Smit, Jim DeSana, Neil Friske, Angela Rigas and Matt Maddock as well as Reps. Brad Paquette and Josh Schriver and Sen. Jim Runestad.