Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson destroyed Trump’s lies about the state’s distribution of absentee ballot applications.
Benson said on MSNBC, “Every Michigan citizen has a right to vote by mail. So I have a responsibility as the chief election officer for the state of Michigan to ensure everyone knows how to exercise their right to vote and all the options that are available to them.”
Video of Sec. of State Benson:
Michigan Sec. of State Jocelyn Benson cuts through Trump's lies and misinformation about the state sending out ballot applications and mail-in voting. pic.twitter.com/r7DT1MJ1B9
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— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) May 20, 2020
She also discussed the safety of vote by mail, “We do take voter fraud very seriously in our state, and we do prosecutor it when we find it, as we have done — as I have done throughout my career. In addition to that, we have to note that voting by mail is safe, is secure. It’s been done by millions of voters for decades throughout this country, including in Michigan. What is new in Michigan is a constitutional right for citizens to vote by mail. We’re working to make sure they know how to exercise that right and do so securely, the signature outside the ballot when they return their ballots by mail is how we’ll do that to ensure it matches the voter registration forms. To me, that is a red herring. Vote by mail is secure, and it’s been done securely by decades.”
Trump is trying to misinform about mail-in voting because he doesn’t want a high turnout election. Trump is also laying the foundation for an argument that the election was stolen from him through vote by mail.
The situation that Trump has created in his own mind with states handing out ballots with no tracking or security is a figment of his imagination.
Donald Trump doesn’t want people to vote, and he is trying to bully the states into making voting more difficult. Elections have consequences, and the recent Democratic victories in Michigan mean that the state has dedicated leaders who are serious about protecting the right to vote.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
