Michigan Poll Challengers Are Suing Dominion With Dershowitz’s Help

Michigan Poll Challengers Are Suing Dominion With Dershowitz’s Help
  • Some Michigan election challengers are suing Dominion Voting Systems over cease and desist letters.
  • They say they never mentioned Dominion in their reports and suffered damages from the letters.
  • The lawsuit is being led by a former “Stop the Steal” attorney, Kurt Olsen, and Alan Dershowitz.

A group of eight Michigan poll challengers is suing Dominion Voting Systems after the company sent them cease and desist letters.

First reported by The Daily Beast, the group is being led by a former “Stop the Steal” attorney, Kurt Olsen, who attempted to convince the US Department of Justice to file a lawsuit regarding the 2020 election to the Supreme Court as part of an effort to undermine President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. 

Famed Democratic attorney and former lawyer for President Donald Trump, Alan Dershowitz, is also a part of the group’s counsel. He told The Daily Beast he’s an “adviser and consultant on the First Amendment issues of this case.”

The state of Michigan allows for interest groups and political parties to appoint “election challengers” to challenge a voter’s eligibility or an election inspector’s actions. 

Eight of the state’s challengers from the 2020 presidential election said they received cease and desist letters from Dominion after they inquired about potential irregularities in the election despite never mentioning Dominion in their formal challenges.

In the letters, Dominion instructed the challengers to stop speaking about Dominion and to preserve any communications with members of the Trump campaign, Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, and other Trump attorneys.

The company has sent over 200 cease and desist letters in total to people challenging the company’s integrity and quality of its election services. Other than changing the name of the person the letters are addressed to, each of the cease and desist letters provided as evidence in the new lawsuit appears to be identical and fails to mention any of the election challenges brought forth by any of the plaintiffs.

While the challengers were never sued by Dominion itself, they allege the cease and desist letters instilled a sense of fear for their businesses, safety, and even an unborn child.

“After being threatened and in fear of her life and that of her unborn child while working at the TCF Center, this letter exacerbated all of those feelings,” the lawsuit says regarding one of the plaintiffs, Kathleen Daavettila. “Why was she being threatened with a lawsuit? How would this affect her family?”

The lawsuit claims that Dominion violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, more commonly known as the “RICO Act,” which allows for the prosecution against organized crime, though is notoriously difficult to prove in the court of law. 

The group also claims Dominion violated the Equal Protection Clause, acted as a part of a civil conspiracy, and deprived the poll watchers of their First Amendment Rights.

As a private company, Dominion traditionally cannot be found liable under the Equal Protection Act or First Amendment, however, the lawsuit claims the company acted as a “state actor” because it was tasked by the government to run elections using its machines and software.

The poll watchers demand a trial by jury and are looking for Dominion to pay for damages and attorneys fees. No hearings have been set for the lawsuit as of yet.

Dominion did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.

https://www.businessinsider.com/michigan-poll-challengers-are-suing-dominion-with-alan-dershowitz-help-2021-10