{"id":1631288,"date":"2022-09-02T16:47:40","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T20:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1631288"},"modified":"2022-09-02T16:47:59","modified_gmt":"2022-09-02T20:47:59","slug":"michiganders-blast-secretary-of-state-who-claims-her-hands-are-clean-in-2020-election-funding-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michiganders-blast-secretary-of-state-who-claims-her-hands-are-clean-in-2020-election-funding-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"Michiganders Blast Secretary Of State Who Claims Her Hands Are Clean In 2020 Election-Funding Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmichiganders-blast-secretary-of-state-who-claims-her-hands-are-clean-in-2020-election-funding-scheme%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1631288&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Michigan voters are calling out Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson over her claims that she bears no responsibility for a private funding operation that affected election processes leading up to the 2020 general election. <\/p>\n<p>As part of a lawsuit brought by the Thomas More Society on behalf of Michigan voters, the <a href=\"https:\/\/thomasmoresociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/RYAN-8-30-22-reply-brief-as-filed.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reply brief<\/a> filed on Aug. 30 addressed Benson\u2019s claims that she is not personally responsible for allowing millions of dollars worth of private grants to flood the state during the 2020 election cycle \u201cbecause \u2018she did not personally hand out the money\u2019 and that the courts have no authority to review her failure to follow Michigan law because the election scheme occurred in the 2020 general election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSecretary Benson is wrong,\u201d said Thomas More Society Special Counsel Thor Hearne. \u201cThis lawsuit does not seek to relitigate the results of the 2020 general election. Rather, it is about how <em>future<\/em> Michigan elections are conducted and Secretary Benson\u2019s responsibility to conduct elections according to Michigan\u2019s Constitution and Election Code so that every Michigan voter has equal access to the ballot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hearne also went on to debunk Benson\u2019s claims that even if such a \u201cprivate funding scheme is contrary to Michigan\u2019s Constitution and Election Code, she is not responsible and, Michigan voters lack any judicial remedy to hold her accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Benson does not deny that \u201cshe is responsible for supervising Michigan elections and directing how Michigan \u2014 and other \u2014 election officials conduct the election,\u201d Hearne said. \u201cNor does she deny that she was fully aware of and supported this private funding scheme. Secretary Benson is asking the court to overlook her responsibility and hold that, because she did not personally pay the money to election officials, she bears no responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit against Benson was originally filed by the Thomas More Society back in October 2020 in the Michigan Court of Claims over the state\u2019s 2020 use of grants from the left-wing Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), with the legal group <a href=\"https:\/\/thomasmoresociety.org\/case\/election-integrity-lawsuit-filed-in-michigan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">alleging<\/a> that the bid to utilize private grants in the conduction of an election \u201cwas intended to influence the election results and den[y] Michigan voters\u2019 right of equal access to the ballot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The complaint also argues that \u201cseveral Michigan election laws were violated when Secretary Benson allowed the use of illegal drop boxes, permitted illegal acquisition of ballot containers that facilitated ballot harvesting, and allowed election authorities to spend public funds for private purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Given upwards of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techandciviclife.org\/100m\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$400 million<\/a> by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, CTCL was instrumental in quietly altering state and local election processes in the lead-up to the 2020 election. In Michigan alone, the group <a href=\"https:\/\/capitalresearch.org\/article\/shining-a-light-on-zuck-bucks-in-key-states\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">distributed<\/a> \u201c135 grants above the $5,000 minimum,\u201d resulting in $16.8 million \u201cZuckbucks\u201d being poured into localities across the state.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOut of these grants just 45 of the recipient localities were won by Trump, while 90 were won by Biden. Together these 90 municipalities received $14.6 million or 86 percent of all CTCL funds in Michigan,\u201d a Capital Research Center <a href=\"https:\/\/capitalresearch.org\/article\/shining-a-light-on-zuck-bucks-in-key-states\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> found. \u201cMeanwhile, Trump won municipalities overwhelmingly received CTCL\u2019s minimum $5,000 grant, though some received even less.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As detailed by Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway in her New York Times bestselling book, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/rigged-mollie-hemingway\/1139396959\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rigged: How the Media, Big Tech, and the Democrats Seized Our Elections<\/a>,\u201d Zuckerberg\u2019s financing of \u201cliberal groups running partisan get-out-the-vote operations\u201d such as CTCL and the Center for Election Innovation and Research (CEIR) was ultimately \u201cthe means by which [Democrat] activists achieved their \u2018revolution\u2019 and changed the course of the 2020 election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a genius plan,\u201d wrote Hemingway. \u201cAnd because no one ever imagined that a coordinated operation could pull off the privatization of the election system, laws were not built to combat it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Federalist Contributor William Doyle further <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/10\/12\/the-2020-election-wasnt-stolen-it-was-bought-by-mark-zuckerberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">expanded<\/a> upon the effects of CTCL and CEIR\u2019s election funding last year, writing that the groups\u2019 efforts \u201chad nothing to do with traditional campaign finance,\u201d but everything to do \u201cwith financing the infiltration of election offices at the city and county level by left-wing activists, and using those offices as a platform to implement preferred administrative practices, voting methods, and data-sharing agreements, as well as to launch intensive outreach campaigns in areas heavy with Democratic voters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCTCL demanded the promotion of universal mail-in voting through suspending election laws, extending deadlines that favored mail-in over in-person voting, greatly expanding opportunities for \u2018ballot curing,\u2019 expensive bulk mailings, and other lavish \u2018community outreach\u2019 programs that were directed by private activists,\u201d Doyle wrote.<\/p>\n<p>As of September 2022, <a href=\"https:\/\/capitalresearch.org\/article\/states-banning-zuck-bucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">24 states<\/a>\u00a0and five counties have passed laws banning or restricting public officials\u2019 use of \u201cZuckbucks\u201d and other private funds when conducting elections.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Shawn Fleetwood is a Staff Writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He also serves as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-comments mt-30 mt-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-comments-container d-flex flex-column align-items-center py-30\">\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"110\" height=\"106\" src=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/fdrlst-mark.svg\" class=\"img-fluid mb-20\" alt=\"The Federalist logo eagle mark\" \/>    <\/p>\n<p>Unlock commenting by joining the Federalist Community.<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/plans\/pricing\/\" class=\"btn btn-on-white\">Subscribe<\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michigan voters are calling out Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson over her claims that she bears no responsibility for a private funding operation that affected election processes leading up<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1631288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1631288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1631288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1631288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1631288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1631288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1631288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}