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Michigan Secretary of State updates voters on election integrity efforts ahead of primary

person dropping absentee ballot into ballot box
Jodi Westrick
/
Michigan Radio

Michigan’s secretary of state is working to counter misinformation ahead of Tuesday’s primary election.

At a press conference Tuesday, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson told voters to look out for false election claims, and keep in mind that results may come late due to the time it takes to count absentee ballots. The state has issued more than 1.2 million absentee ballots as of last Tuesday.

Benson shared worries about people possibly “laying the seeds” for what she described as “post-election shenanigans.”

“When those attempts continually fail to actually disrupt the process, they do leave behind a trail of doubt and misinformation in the minds of many voters. That is a threat to election security and it’s a threat that we take very seriously,” Jocelyn said.

Denials of the 2020 presidential election results have persisted despite dozens of audits confirming that President Joe Biden won Michigan by over 150,000 votes.

Benson warned of consequences for any local boards that attempt to refuse certifying election results, like one in New Mexico did earlier this year.

“Essentially it will be a futile attempt that will only, in some ways, position them as someone who is taking a sacred duty as a local or state board of canvassers and taking that duty and acting in an illegal way in failing to fulfill that duty,” she told reporters.

“When those attempts continually fail to actually disrupt the process, they do leave behind a trail of doubt and misinformation in the minds of many voters. That is a threat to election security and it’s a threat that we take very seriously,” Jocelyn said.

Denials of the 2020 presidential election results have persisted despite dozens of audits confirming that President Joe Biden won Michigan by over 150,000 votes.

Benson warned of consequences for any local boards that attempt to refuse certifying election results, like one in New Mexico did earlier this year.

“Essentially it will be a futile attempt that will only, in some ways, position them as someone who is taking a sacred duty as a local or state board of canvassers and taking that duty and acting in an illegal way in failing to fulfill that duty,” she told reporters.

Benson cautioned Tuesday’s election results could come in slowly due to the amount of time it takes to count absentee ballots.