Twenty-one Republican legislators in Michigan have sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting that the U.S. Department of Justice oversee the state's primary and general elections next year.

Some Democrats say the request violates the U.S. Constitution.

"I think it's important to make sure that every ballot was counted once and then we have an election administration that is throughout and exact," Sen. Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, said in an interview with CBS News Detroit on Sunday.

Nesbitt represents parts of Allegan, Berrien, Kent and Van Buren counties in southwest Michigan.

Republicans said there is an "inherent and unavoidable conflict of interest" with Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is running for governor. 

Curtis Hertell, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, in a written statement on Sunday, called the request an attempt to overturn an election and "a pathetic ploy for attention."

"Let's set the record straight, that our system of checks and balances, between local clerks, county clerks, the secretary of state and bipartisan board of canvassers, have kept Michigan elections free, fair and accurate for nearly 200 years," said state Rep. Stephen Wooden, D-Grand Rapids, minority vice chair of the Committee on Election Integrity.

Nesbitt questions the accuracy when an illegal voter was able to cast their vote in recent elections.

"There was a Chinese national at the U of M that voted and wasn't caught, but felt guilty and turned himself in," Nesbitt said.

Haoxiang Gao was charged last year with illegally registering to vote and casting a ballot in the 2024 general election, according to court records. Gao was a student at the University of Michigan. He admitted during a conversation with the school that he registered to vote and did cast a vote at a polling location on campus on Oct. 27. 

Gao has since fled to China, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation document unsealed in June.

"Secretary Benson provided a review of our voter file of who apprehended the law, and those people will be held accountable for breaking the law," Wooden said.

Benson was not available to speak with CBS News Detroit on Sunday.

Nesbitt says the Republican Party has not heard back from the Justice Department about its request.

Wooden says the Democratic Party has no problem with the federal agency monitoring the election. He says it already does, but that overseeing the election is not constitutional.