DETROIT – Michigan’s Secretary of State spoke candidly about the push for new election laws just one day before Michigan voters head to the polls.
Voters across Metro Detroit will make decisions on everything from city council seats to critical bond issues. The election comes as conservatives push to make sweeping changes to election laws.
Read: Michigan General Election 2021 voter guide: What to know before voting on Nov. 2
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has been open about talking about threats to election workers and election processes that have been proven to be secure for a year. Recently, Benson, Who is a staunch Democrat, crossed party lines to appear directly to Republican listeners.
In a new podcast for the conservative group, The Lincoln Project, Benson is the subject of the interview titled “Saviors of Democracy.” In it, she talks candidly about a year of trying to maintain elections after threats and an insurrection.
“The one thing I knew on Jan. 7 was that I was done assuming that this was temporary, that this was a moment. I knew that this was a multi-year political strategy that had really just only begun,” Benson said.
She also talked about efforts to change voting laws, which Republicans say are needed for election security. Voting rights activists and Democrats warn the changes would disenfranchise voters.
Benson has been active in trying to enshrine expanded access to voting and streamlining certain parts of elections since 2020. She said there’s also a desperate need for election workers to come forward and do their part.
“There’s really more of us on the side of democracy than there are on the other side and we leverage that by putting more pro-democracy people on both sides of the aisle in positions of authority as election workers to protect the vote,” Benson said.
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