MichMash: Secretary Benson on presidential primaries, election security
Michigan residents can start voting in next month’s presidential primary as early as Jan. 28, depending on the county.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson joined "MichMash" host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer's Alethia Kasban to discuss early voting and boosting voter confidence ahead of the 2024 presidential primary.
The 2024 election season is underway with the presidential primary coming earlier than in previous election cycles. MichMash host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer’s Alethia Kasban sit down with Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to discuss how the early voting is part of an effort to boost voter confidence.
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In this episode:
- The earlier date for the presidential primary
- Ensuring voters about election security
- Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s future after her final term
The Michigan presidential primary has moved up from the second Tuesday in March to the last Tuesday in February (Feb. 27) this year. Benson ultimately wants to bring the voter’s clarity no matter what the date is.
“The legislature’s prerogative is to set the date. Our job as an election administrator is to build the structure to make it happen,” she said.
When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the bill to move the primary forward last year, the hope was to increase Michigan’s voice in the presidential nominating process.
One of the biggest things Benson says she’s looking to combat this year is misinformation about election security. When asked what could be done to combat the 2020 narrative of the elections not being secure, she said it would help if politicians stopped fueling it, because the facts are contrary to the misinformation.
“We know that the biggest antidote to the lies is transparency and facts,” Benson said. “You’ll see clerks all around our state doing more than ever before to host for us, to talk about our elections, to invite people into the testing of the voting machines, and working with our office to get more information to voters about all these new changes in a proactive way so that if lies follow, citizens have access to the real information first.”
Based on the county, Michigan residents can start voting as early as Jan. 28.
Use the media player above to hear the full audio interview, or watch the video interview below.
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