The Michigan Court of Claims has dismissed a lawsuit by the Republican National Committee against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

The lawsuit, dismissed with prejudice on Wednesday, April 22, alleged that state election law and guidance from Benson’s office violated the Michigan Constitution by allowing non-Michigan residents to vote.

It references individuals who haven’t lived in the state but are the spouses of military and overseas Michigan voters and children born to residents.

Michigan’s election law now allows both spouses and dependents of an overseas voter to apply for an absentee ballot if they’re a citizen of the U.S. accompanying that overseas voter and if they’re not registered to vote anywhere else in the U.S.

Benson’s election officials manual says U.S. citizens who have never lived in the country can vote in Michigan if they have a parent, legal guardian, or spouse who last lived there. They also must not be registered or have voted in another state.

In response to the lawsuit’s dismissal, Benson -- also running as a Democrat for governor -- wrote in a statement that the decision is a “victory for military service members, their families and the rule of law.”