NEWS RELEASE
SECRETARY OF STATE JOCELYN BENSON
*************************
Today, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson testified before the U.S. Committee on House Administration on Michigan’s preparations to ensure a safe, secure, accessible, and accurate general election in November.
“As Michigan’s chief election officer, my responsibility is to ensure our elections are accessible, safe, secure, and the results are accurate," Benson said. “It is not a partisan role and despite being an elected position, it is not a political role. But it is a role that increasingly forces many of us – whether we consider ourselves Republicans, Democrats, or independents – to endure threats, harassment, false and malicious attacks on our character and integrity.”
“These threats are a direct result of the spread of false information about the security and accuracy of our elections,” said Benson. “I need you to be on notice that unsubstantiated allegations and rhetoric without evidence makes our elections less secure because they erode the public’s confidence in our elections and harm those charged with protecting our election systems.”
Secretary Benson emphasized the federal government’s critical role as a trusted partner in securing our elections.
“Recent years have brought unprecedented threats to our election system, including some from highly sophisticated, foreign government-aligned entities,” Benson said. “It is essential that we marshal bipartisan support and cooperative actions in response. Part of that response must be a commitment to providing a predictable, sustainable, and reliable stream of funding for elections. We know what we need to do to ensure our elections are secure but often must scrape together funding from multiple sources to meet our needs. Federal resources are essential for supporting personnel, purchasing or upgrading voting machines or maintaining statewide voter registration databases.”
Benson discussed the work Michigan is doing to support a safe and transparent election infrastructure, to establish partnerships with community leaders to engage every eligible voter, and to ensure the accuracy of the state’s voter registration database.
“Despite the politically charged environment, in Michigan we are working together to make data-driven decisions to preserve the integrity of our voting systems,” said Benson. I and my colleagues in Michigan will continue to lead on this.”
Secretary Benson's testimony is available online.
*************************
