The Ingham County Circuit Court rejected a lawsuit filed by Arab American activist Huwaida Arraf, who requested a temporary injunction to restrict the results of the Democratic Party elections in the University of Michigan Board of Regents race in November, claiming a lack of integrity and transparency in the nomination process at the party’s state convention in Lansing on August 24.

After a hearing on Friday, September 6, Ingham County Circuit Court Judge James Jamo rejected the Palestinian-born attorney’s request for the injunction, dismissing Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson from the lawsuit, which alleged that the Michigan Democratic Party violated its bylaws during the August 24 state convention. Arraf claimed the nomination process was “procedurally flawed, violating the principles of free and fair elections, as well as the Rules for Voting and Elections (RVE).”

Arraf’s lawsuit alleged that more people voted than were credentialed, creating significant discrepancies in the election process. Specifically, she claimed that while 1,248 voters were present, the final tally showed more than 1,420 votes. Additionally, Arraf argued that her campaign was barred from observing the vote tabulation, while other candidates, their families and current regents were allowed to enter the tabulation area, leading to concerns about transparency​.

Arraf had competed for the Democratic nomination for two open seats on the University of Michigan Board of Regents against former board member Dr. Shauna Ryder Diggs and current board member Denise Ilitch. After a vote based on proportional representation, Arraf lost the nomination by about 100 votes to Ilitch, who received more than 2,400 votes, and by nearly 500 votes to Diggs, who received around 2,800 votes.

Despite Arraf’s apparent numerical advantage, Democratic Party officials justified the selection of Diggs and Ilitch, both supported by Governor Whitmer, based on the “formula” used to calculate the “weight of votes” by county, according to the Democratic turnout in the last dual-year election (2022).

According to these voting rules, the votes at the conference were weighted in proportion to the county’s contribution based on “a formula that accounts for the strength of Democratic voting in that county relative to the entire state”, making the votes of some delegates more impactful than others.

The Democratic Party nominations at the Lansing conference were met with a wave of outrage and protest from Arraf’s supporters, who demanded the party leadership in Michigan to “reveal the numbers” and chanted slogans such as “Shame on you” and “In November, we will remember.”

Huwaida Arraf

Following the event, Arraf filed a petition with the Democratic Party’s Appeals Committee to review the irregularities and errors that resulted in her being excluded from the race despite the overwhelming support she had during the party’s general conference. However, her request was denied, prompting her to file a lawsuit in Ingham County.

As Arraf looks to appeal the Ingham County Court’s decision rejecting her request for a temporary restriction on the Democratic Party nominations in Michigan, she explained that she included Benson in the lawsuit as an “essential party” responsible for certifying party nominations.

“We named her in the case because if we were granted the injunction, she would have to take steps to ensure that the names of the current candidates (Diggs and Ilitch) are not printed,” Arraf said.

She also expressed her frustration with the Democratic Party’s defense in court.

“Their lawyer’s argument was outrageous because they are essentially not accountable to their members,” she said. “They can do whatever they want, as their internal regulations lack a process for recounting or auditing the votes, even if the voting was unfair.

“They argue that the judiciary cannot really order them to conduct a recount or audit,” she added, referring to the Michigan Democratic Party leadership, which did not allow Arraf’s campaign to monitor the vote count despite repeated requests, according to a previous statement from her campaign​.