City drops RNC lawsuit over FOIA violation over deleted video

In this Oct. 16, 2020, file photo, a ballot drop box is shown where voters can drop off absentee ballots instead of using them by mail in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio).

The Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit this week against the city of Detroit’s Department of Elections, claiming officials from Michigan’s largest city violated the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by deleting surveillance video from a ballot drop box. However, Detroit officials responded by saying the lawsuit was “aimed at causing embarrassment and undermining confidence in our ability to conduct elections without problems.”

Lawyers for the RNC say Kent County resident Jonathan Koch filed a FOIA with Detroit on Aug. 20 requesting surveillance footage from a dropbox location after he was “alerted to a potential election integrity risk during the primary.” says a press release. The concern was not elaborated upon but said it occurred on August 8th. City officials confirmed receipt of the request the next day. But on Sept. 16, the city said it had no record of the request because the video had been “automatically” deleted after 30 days.

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In the lawsuit, the RNC alleges that Detroit violated Michigan’s FOIA laws by failing to preserve and produce the video because it had not yet been deleted at the time of the request.

“Deleting drop box surveillance footage while a FOIA request is pending for it is an attack on transparency,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement. “This breach of trust is precisely why confidence in our elections is declining. We will hold Detroit accountable because this secrecy has no place in a fair and secure election – Michiganders deserve far better.”

The lawsuit says that under Michigan law, a government agency “must protect public records from loss, unauthorized alteration, mutilation or destruction.” It accused the Election Department of acting “arbitrarily and arbitrarily” by delaying its response to the request so that the video would be deleted pending compliance with the FOIA.

There is a “real and immediate” risk of “irreparable harm” if more surveillance videos from mailboxes are destroyed despite a “timely FOIA request.” The lawsuit asks a judge to issue a “writ of mandamus,” a court order requiring government officials to properly carry out their official duties. It also asks the judge to issue an order declaring that Detroit violated FOIA laws.

But the city administration considers the lawsuit to be nonsense. It released the following statement to local media:

Our own failure to respond to the FOIA in a timely manner gave the RNC the opportunity to file a frivolous lawsuit. The filing is intended to cause embarrassment and undermine confidence in our ability to conduct a smooth election. I guarantee you that there was no nefarious activity at the locations where video footage was requested.

However, I would say this: The City of Detroit receives nearly 9,000 FOIA requests each year. We work to accommodate each request and in this case have informed the applicant that we would need more time. By the time we found the video, it had already been reused and the requested footage was not available. We work every day to improve our processes and our goal remains to retain all data in accordance with the policy.

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