Michigan secretary of state on early voting in the state and misinformation on upcoming election
(CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about the upcoming presidential election.
Brennan and Benson talked about since early voting started in Michigan on Saturday, and while more than one million people in Michigan having already voted, with more than two million people requesting absentee ballots, Brennan asked Benson what the turnout is like.
"People are energized, and it's been really exciting to see. Now we're over two weeks out, just over two weeks out, and already, as you mentioned, over a million citizens have returned their absentee ballots, which is a great sign for an engaged electorate on both sides of the aisle. And then yesterday, Detroit launched early in person voting, where citizens could come and actually put their ballots into the machine. That's what I did, and I joined close to 2000 others who did that. And just to give you some comparison, the first day of early in-person voting in Detroit in the August primary, we saw just over 200 people vote. This time we saw 2000, or close to 2000, 10 times, almost, as many. So that shows Detroit citizens are overwhelmingly enthusiastic and engaged, and I'm really grateful for all our partners who've been educating citizens about their rights to vote in these final weeks."
Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State
When asked if she will "enforce election certification" if a presidential candidate from either party wins, Benson said, " Yes, without hesitation," while Brennan asked how quickly does she expect to get results, to which Benson answered:
"Well, you know, in 2020 we had the results of our highest turnout election in Michigan history, within 24 hours of the polls closing. The unofficial results were completed by 8pm on Wednesday. So we're tracking that again this year. We do have more options to process ballots sooner than Election Day, which is where we were restricted in 2020, so I'm optimistic we could see results even sooner. But I would estimate, end of the day on Wednesday, as the best guess on how we'll perform. But that said, we will always prioritize accuracy and security over efficiency. Understanding how much people will want those results, we're still going to make sure the process is secure and accurate before we put anything out to the public. But that said, we understand people's energy and excitement, and we'll be working hard to ensure those results are ready as soon as possible."
During the interview, Brennan and Benson talked about her accusing Elon Musk of "intentionally spreading false information about Michigan voters." When asked what she believes is Musk's intention and how concerned she is that he's misleading voters, Benson answered:
"I'll say two things. One, we know adversaries to democracy right now are trying to create chaos and confusion and sow seeds of distrust around our very clear and legitimate and accurate and secure processes of running elections, not just in Michigan but around the country. So it's incumbent upon all of us to look to trusted sources of information like your local election official and use data to evaluate questions, as opposed to people who are running social media companies with particular agendas and who have a history in amplifying conspiracy theories and false information. So in this moment, it will be my responsibility, and really everyone's, to look and promote and amplify trusted information about our elections so that people can know both where to go with questions and also have faith in the results. We have set up a website, michigan.gov/electionfacts, which addresses every single question people have raised, and we encourage citizens to go there, as opposed to social media for seeking trusted and accurate information about our elections."
To watch more of Brennan's interview with Benson, click here.
