Former President Barack Obama, second from left, campaigns for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, left, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, and Attorney General Dana Nessel, right, during a rally, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

DETROIT — A judge threw out a lawsuit Monday that challenged voting by absentee ballot in Detroit, saying a Republican candidate for secretary of state failed to produce any evidence of violations.

“Plaintiffs have raised a red flag of election law violations and corruption concerning Detroit’s procedures for the November 8th election. This court’s ruling takes down that flag,” Wayne County Judge Tim Kenny wrote.

Kristina Karamo and others sued to try to force Detroit residents to vote in person or go to the city clerk’s office to get an absentee ballot.

They filed a lawsuit 13 days before Tuesday’s election, making a variety of allegations about how Detroit reviews signatures on absentee ballots and monitors drop-off boxes. The lawsuit, among other things, also claimed the city was using “uncertified high-speed tabulators” to count votes.

“Despite plaintiffs’ arguments to ‘shed light in a dark place,’ they have failed dramatically,” the judge said. “Over an eight-hour evidentiary hearing, no evidence of election law violations” was revealed.

Kenny noted that Detroit elections administrator Daniel Baxter and former Michigan elections director Chris Thomas testified about how the city performs its job.

Approximately 60,000 Detroit voters had submitted an absentee ballot by last Thursday, Kenny said.

“While it is easy to hurl accusations of violations of law and corruption, it is another matter to come forward and produce the evidence our Constitution and laws require,” the judge said.

Justice to watch voting rights across 24 states

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department will send monitors to 24 states in an effort to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws in Tuesday’s elections.

The action, which occurs regularly on Election Day, comes as civil rights groups and the federal government have raised alarm over potential voter intimidation at some polling places and ballot boxes.

The 2022 election is playing out against the backdrop of persistent falsehoods made by former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies about losing the 2020 vote, a relentless campaign that will have implications as people cast their ballots.

Democrats, on the other hand, have expressed concerns over the potential for voter suppression.

The 64 jurisdictions where federal monitors — typically lawyers with the department’s civil rights division and U.S. attorney’s offices across the United States — are going include Maricopa County, Arizona, where there have been reports of people watching ballot boxes, sometimes armed or wearing ballistic vests. The Justice Department also announced it would be sending monitors to Cole County, Missouri, where local elections officials have said they would block the monitors.

The attorneys will be in regular touch with election officials in the locations and will watch for signs of disruption to voters’ ability to cast ballots. There is also a call-in line should voters feel they are suffering discrimination at a polling place.

The monitors are being sent to “protect the rights of voters,” as they have for decades, the Justice Department said Monday.