Jocelyn Benson

The clarity provided by the court is to affirm what I and the vast majority of my colleagues have also said since the beginning, which is that it's inappropriate for any one state to weigh in and make a decisive position on such a thorny…

For the good of democracy, the Court should resolve them now.

I want them to deliver a substantive decision on the merit, sooner rather than later, that clearly sets the expectation as to whether or not under the 14th Amendment Donald Trump is qualified to serve as president again.

I do. I certainly think that this was one of a string of illegal attempts to block the certification of our election results in Michigan and to threaten or cajole or even bribe officials who had a legal duty to certify the results.

We've been preparing for that, frankly, since January 6, 2021, where it became very clear to me that we were witnessing the beginning, not the end, of what has turned out to be a multiyear effort to subvert our elections and harm citizens'…

I think we've always known about this call. We've known and I wasn't surprised by the content of it at all as gut wrenching as it is to hear a former president try to pressure local election officials to not do their legal duty and certify…

We are fully prepared -- hoping for the best, but preparing for every contingency, and every tactic, every lever that could be pulled again if, you know, any losing candidate would try to subvert the will of the people in 2024.

I think it's -- one, I'm very pleased to see these charges brought because this was far more than just a ceremonial attempt. This was an actual actionable effort to undermine the will of the voters, one that we fought at the time…

It's not OK for you, for anyone to try to block the will of the people from coming to fruition in any election regardless of the winner.

We need to be very clear going into the 2024 election cycle that any attempts to overturn a subsequent election result people disagree with, though accurate... will be met with consequences, and serious ones at that.

I think we've seen on every level a lot of evidence that this is a nationally coordinated effort whether it is to try to gain access to our voting machines, whether it is trying to run candidates who are spouting misinformation to become…

Oh it`s a vindication for the law and for the people of Michigan and the hundreds of thousands of people who signed this petition wanting it to go on to the ballot. And it really also showed and sent a strong message to the Republican…

the fundamental rights and freedoms, indeed democracy itself in our state are literally on the ballot this fall.

We will work with law enforcement to ensure quick action and above all, ensure voters have protected unfettered access to our elections, to their vote, and that our election officials similarly are protected as they do their work as well.

Yes, absolutely. I mean, what we have seen really over the last several years is a complete evidence, ongoing evidence of coordination among really several States, not just Michigan and Georgia, but also Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin.

I'm concerned, Anderson, about violence, both on Election Day and real threats against our election workers, against our poll workers, against voters themselves.

We don't want that presence. We don't want any efforts to potentially, even unintentionally intimidate voters from participating on Election Day, but we also need to be able to rapidly respond to any incidents that occur.

I think it underscores both the severity of the attempts to intervene with our elections, and also the coordination of it. The fact that this was not an isolated incident, and it occurred in many other States.

If there are evidence of -- or questions based on evidence, rooted in evidence of any issues around our elections, then, yes, we welcome that, because the more transparency we have on the process, the more sunlight, the more people can…

There is... a concern about the ongoing spread of misinformation, which of course, fuels the potential for additional threats, harassment and, and even violence on Election Day.

We have maintained and prioritized ensuring the accuracy of our voting list since I took office, including doing a mailing to every voter in the state...

We are in many ways even more prepared this year than ever before, than -- even than we were in 2020, to ensure that we are eliminating, mitigating or certainly protecting the system against any potential disruptions.

There is a plan to deal with violence. Should I be afraid when I go to the polls?

We want to ensure that our lists are accurate, but that we're also not removing voters who are legitimately able to be registered and vote in Michigan.

Democracy prevailed in 2020. There have been, in Michigan and in other states, no significant attempts, apart from the tragedy in our Capitol on January 6, to really see disruption of the polling places on Election Day itself.