Michigan jury pool shocker: 200+ noncitizens slipped in — and one may have voted

A county clerk in Michigan has sounded the alarm after a cross-check of state and local databases revealed that more than 200 noncitizens had been included in a jury pool — and one of them may even have voted.

On Monday, Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini issued a press release that quickly went viral on social media. Forlini claimed that because Michigan automatically registers driver's license applicants to vote unless the applicant intentionally opts to decline, 239 noncitizens with Michigan driver's licenses had been included in the pool of potential jurors for the 16th Judicial Circuit Court over a four-month period, even as noncitizens are ineligible to serve on juries.

'Even if you give [Benson] the benefit of the doubt, you'd have to admit that she doesn't know what she's doing. But the problem is, I think she does.'

What's more, after cross-referencing the noncitizens in the jury pool against the Michigan Qualified Voter File — maintained and monitored by Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson — Forlini's office discovered that at least 14 of these noncitizens had been registered to vote at some point.

"Our QVF shows instances where some of these noncitizens potentially having a voting history. One in particular appears to have voted several times, all of which could result in felony charges," Forlini said in a statement.

"We must find a way for the Driver’s License database to confirm citizenship," he continued. "Many times there may be a language barrier, and applicants do not understand what they are signing. If this is not addressed, we risk compromising our jury trials and our elections."

Forlini, a former state representative, is running for secretary of state as a Republican.

However, he's hardly the only Republican outraged about the discovery.

Rep. John James, who is running for governor and whose congressional district includes much of Macomb County, posted a scathing video response on X, accusing Secretary Benson, who is running for governor as a Democrat, of either "corruption or incompetence."

"Even if you give her the benefit of the doubt, you'd have to admit that she doesn't know what she's doing. But the problem is, I think she does," James stated.

"The bigger problem for Michigan is: What do you think she's going to do when she's overseeing an election where she's at the top of the ticket this time?"

RELATED: Rep. John James hammers Michigan GOP over political failures: 'What are we even talking about?'

Captain Michael Bouchard, who is running as a Republican to replace James as the representative in Michigan's 10th district, indicated that the blame falls at the feet of Michigan Democrats like Benson but insisted that the issue affects all U.S. citizens, regardless of party.

"I’ve served our country in uniform, and I don’t take lightly the freedoms we enjoy as Americans," Bouchard said in a statement to Blaze News. "Protecting those freedoms starts with protecting the integrity of our elections. After years of poor leadership by Michigan Democrats, we need to fix this now. This shouldn’t even be a political issue. Our elections must be fair, secure, and decided only by American citizens."

Benson's office did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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