Tag: Jocelyn Benson

Michigan Supreme Court Nixes Secretary of State Benson’s Redistricting Extension Request

The Center Square

The Michigan Supreme Court denied a request from Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission to grant an extension for redrawing the state’s district map.

Benson and the ICRC filed a Petition for Relief with the Court in April, asking the Court to recognize the ICRC’s constitutionally imposed deadline as “unrealistic.” The petition argued the new timeline would ensure the Bureau of Elections had sufficient time to update the state’s voter registration database with the new district lines. Additionally, they argued, local clerks would be able to create and provide every voter with a correct ballot.

The extension was requested because of the six-month delay of 2020 U.S. Census data due to the coronavirus pandemic, which, it anticipated, would precipitate lawsuits. U.S. Census data is scheduled to become available Oct. 1. The ICRC was seeking to move its deadline from mid-September to Dec. 11, which would push back approval of final district maps to Jan. 25, 2022. The deadline for the filing of candidates for the November 2022 election is April 15.

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Bill Aims to Stop Sale of Michigan Secretary of State Appointments

The Center Square

A bill introduced to the Michigan Legislature aims to stop the black-market sale of Secretary of State (SOS) appointments.

When SOS Jocelyn Benson in May said the state would permanently end walk-in service, arguing the walk-in system was inefficient, the announcement sparked a black market of Michiganders so desperate for an appointment some chose to pay for an otherwise free service.

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Over 7,000 Affidavits Delivered to Michigan Lawmakers Claim Election Fraud

The Center Square
voters polling place

Hundreds of people concerned about the integrity of the Nov. 2020 election gathered outside the Michigan Capitol Thursday to protest and deliver roughly 7,000 affidavits claiming fraud and demanding a forensic audit.

Michigan Conservation Coalition spokesperson Matt Seely said thousands of Michigan voters have questioned the integrity of the 2020 election.

“If we do a deep-dive forensic audit similar to Arizona, it will do either one of two things. It will prove that all of the politicians who say there’s nothing to see there, that they were right. Or it will prove that there’s a big problem with the integrity of our elections and that we need to address it in a major way,” he told The Center Square in a phone interview.

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Secretary of State Benson Calls on Lawmakers to Revamp SOS Services, Give Unspecified Amount of Money

The Center Square
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on Thursday asked for an unspecified amount of money to completely revamp the Michigan Department of State (MDOS).

The money would be used to provide “pop-up” offices, provide virtual interactions instead of in-person, and pass other laws that would result in less interaction with the department.

“Michiganders can now complete most of their transactions online, by mail or at one of our new self-service stations located at their local grocery store,” Benson said. “And the remaining in-person transactions are carried out by appointment, ensuring the vast majority of customers have little to no wait time.”

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Michigan SOS Benson Asks Top Court to Push Back Redistricting Committee Deadline

The Center Square

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has filed suit with the Michigan Supreme Court to ensure the public has time to provide feedback on the new voting district maps that will be drawn by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC). 

The suit describes the current constitutional deadline as unrealistic since it requires the commission to make maps available for 45 days of public comment starting on Sept. 17, even though the U.S. Census Bureaus won’t have official data until Sept. 30. The U.S. Census Bureau cited the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for the delay.

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Mark Zuckerberg-Funded CEIR Donated Nearly $12 Million So Michigan Residents Could Vote Absentee

Chris Butler

A group directly linked to Mark Zuckerberg  donated nearly $12 million to a Michigan nonprofit to help state residents vote absentee for the 2020 presidential election. Zuckerberg and his associates donated the money with the blessing of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

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Michigan AG and Sec. of State Block Results of Forensic Audit of 22 Dominion Machines in Antrim County

Michigan Star Staff

A Northern Michigan judge has allowed Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to block the results of a forensic audit of Dominion machines in Antrim County, where thousands of votes for President Trump were flipped to Joe Biden.

Chief Judge Kevin A. Elsenheimer last week issued an order granting a local man, William Baily, permission for a forensic examination of the county’s 22 Dominion tabulators.

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Michigan Secretary of State Spokesperson: Post Alleging 118-Year-Old Man Who Voted by Absentee Ballot Was Probably Just a Mistyped Entry

Corinne Murdock

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s spokesperson stated that a viral post alleging that a 118-year-old man voted was true, but was probably due to a mistyped entry. Fact-checkers said that they discovered another individual with the same name in the area.

The post featured a screen recording: an individual typed in “William Bradley” into the state’s voter information page, followed by a birth date and zip code. Immediately, the search returned with Bradley’s city clerk information as well as a confirmation that an absentee ballot had been received.

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Michigan’s Top Elections Official Says That Results Won’t Be Available November 3

Michigan Star Staff

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Sunday that it could take up to a week to count all of Michigan’s absentee ballots for November’s election.

“We should be prepared for this to be closer to an election week, as opposed to an Election Day,” she said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The bottom line is we are not going to have the full results and a counting of all of our ballots on election night.”

Benson said that Michigan’s election officials were “laser-focused” on ensuring that all ballots are counted accurately, and referenced how her office had purchased more voting tabulators in order to ensure that the influx of absentee ballots could be counted as efficiently as possible.

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Michigan and Ohio Secretaries of State Endorse Zuckerberg’s Millions Directed to Elections

Corinne Murdock

Michigan and Ohio state secretaries Jocelyn Benson and Frank LaRose endorsed $300 million directed to elections by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. The Center for Tech and Civil Life (CTCL) and Center for Election Innovation and Research (CEIR) announced Tuesday that Zuckerberg and his wife donated in order “to promote safe and reliable voting in states and localities.”

Both Benson and LaRose agreed that the investment was necessary considering the pandemic’s effects on the presidential election. LaRose reposted the press release the day it came out, citing the need for accurate information during voting.

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Coalition Files Lawsuits to Stop Gov. Whitmer From Silencing Free Speech in Elections, Secretary of State Benson From Undermining Absentee Ballot Integrity

Jason M. Reynolds

A coalition filed two lawsuits in Michigan on Monday, a federal case against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for allegedly silencing political speech, and a state suit against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for reportedly circumventing state law protecting the right of Michiganders to have their vote properly counted.

The lawsuits were announced on a new website launched by the coalition: Got Freedom? The website is available here.

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Advocates Sound Alarm Over Wayne County’s Absentee Ballot Signature Verifications, Other Election Issues

Jason M. Reynolds

Election integrity advocates believe something fishy is going on in Wayne County with absentee ballots, and they say Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is undermining the security of the process there and across Michigan.

Glen Sitek of the Election Integrity Fund provided an exclusive statement to The Michigan Star.

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Michigan Hires An Elections Security Specialist Trying to Ensure a Secure 2020 Presidential Election

Zachery Schmidt

Michigan appointed its first-ever elections security specialist for the upcoming 2020 presidential election. The person tasked with upholding the state’s election security is Ashiya Brown who previously worked as an audit and database management expert in the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, according to the Detroit Free Press.

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Activist Group Joins Michigan’s Efforts to Block Republican Constitutional Rights in Two Lawsuits Over Redistricting

Jason M. Reynolds

Activist group Voters Not Politicians joined the State of Michigan’s opposition to two Republican lawsuits aimed at protecting constitutional rights involved in the redistricting process.

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Michigan Attorney General Asks Court to Dismiss Lawsuit by Residents Who Are Ineligible to Serve on New Redistricting Commission

Jason M. Reynolds

Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel asked the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan to throw out a lawsuit that aims to scrap a new process of drawing districts.

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