{"id":2337279,"date":"2024-09-05T14:07:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-05T18:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michigan-secretary-of-state-repeats-threats-to-election-officials\/"},"modified":"2024-09-05T14:11:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T18:11:00","slug":"michigan-secretary-of-state-repeats-threats-to-election-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michigan-secretary-of-state-repeats-threats-to-election-officials\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan Secretary Of State Repeats Threats To Election Officials"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/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%2Fmichigan-secretary-of-state-repeats-threats-to-election-officials%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=2337279&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>In a recent interview with lawyer Marc Elias, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson reiterated her intent to take\u2062 legal action against election officials who hesitate to certify election results. This statement \u200cfollows\u200d previous warnings to counties regarding certification\u200b obligations, emphasizing a new law, Proposal 2, \u2063which she claims limits canvassers&#8217; discretion in certifying results. Benson asserted that any reluctance to certify would not be tolerated\u200c and \u200bwarned that\u2064 there could \u200cbe legal consequences \u2064for such actions.<\/p>\n<p>Benson described herself as \u2062responsible for ensuring election integrity and\u200d dismissed \u200bconcerns about election results as mere political pressure.\u200c She \u2062accused critics of intentionally trying to create a\u2062 perception of illegitimacy surrounding the electoral process. Furthermore, she promoted a &#8220;Democracy Ambassador&#8221; \u2063program aimed\u2063 at rallying\u200b citizens \u200cto counter misinformation\u200c about elections. The discussion has sparked controversy given Elias&#8217;s\u200c association with the discredited Steele dossier and his past involvement in Democratic election strategies.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson doubled down on threats of legal action against election officials who hesitate to certify election results as reported during an interview with Democrat lawyer and Trump-Russia collusion hoaxer Marc Elias.<\/p>\n<p>Benson appeared in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FxIJZz7yz6w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an interview<\/a> for Elias&rsquo; leftist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/organization\/democracy-docket-legal-fund-ddlf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">group<\/a> Democracy Docket on Aug. 30. Elias was <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/05\/10\/federal-judge-eviscerates-russia-collusion-hoaxer-marc-elias-for-aiming-to-undermine-new-york-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">instrumental<\/a> in orchestrating the infamous Christopher Steele dossier, accusing then-candidate Donald Trump of working with Russian agents.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Just weeks after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Jb59sk-UmAw&amp;t=225s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">threatening<\/a> counties that hesitate to certify election results, Benson reiterated the point in the interview with Elias, threatening state legal action unless canvassers certify the reported results with no questions asked.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s going to be much harder legally, practically, realistically for anyone to not certify and get away with it,&rdquo; Benson said. &ldquo;If they don&rsquo;t like the election results, we&rsquo;ll be there the minute, the second it happens.&rdquo;<strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>She apparently referenced Proposal 2, <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Michigan_Proposal_2,_Voting_Policies_in_Constitution_Amendment_(2022)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">passed<\/a> in 2022, which according to Ballotpedia <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Michigan_Proposal_2,_Voting_Policies_in_Constitution_Amendment_(2022)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gutted<\/a> boards of canvassers&rsquo; ability to decide whether to certify election results, making it a &ldquo;ministerial, clerical, nondiscretionary duty.&rdquo; As The Federalist previously <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/05\/10\/federal-judge-eviscerates-russia-collusion-hoaxer-marc-elias-for-aiming-to-undermine-new-york-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, the left-wing litigation firm Campaign Legal Center has been pushing similar provisions in other states.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You have a responsibility to certify the election results if you&rsquo;re in those positions,&rdquo; Benson said. &ldquo;If you abdicate that responsibility, we will seek consequences.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>She dismissed potential objections to election results, boiling them down to &ldquo;political pressure.&rdquo; Benson reiterated her threat to steamroll those with election concerns.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;re not going to be successful. We&rsquo;ll get the results certified,&rdquo; Benson said. &ldquo;What will happen, also, is there will be legal consequences.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Benson claimed those with election integrity concerns are acting in bad faith to suppress voting.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The depths to which people will go to try to create this sense of illegitimacy, this sense that laws are being violated, and really just intimidate agencies,&rdquo; Benson said. &ldquo;What they&rsquo;re really doing is trying to create controversy over what is actually a nonpartisan, well-designed effort to engage more people in the political process regardless of how they&rsquo;re going to vote.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But Benson took <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/03\/25\/exclusive-zuckerberg-connected-nonprofit-helped-shift-michigans-2020-voting-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">input<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michigan-secretary-of-state-reiterates-threats-to-election-officials\/\" title=\"Michigan Secretary Of State Reiterates Threats To Election Officials\">loosening state absentee ballot rules ahead<\/a> of the 2020 election from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gold-medalist-found-sleeping-in-the-park-after-raging-over-olympic-village-conditions-the-food-is-bad\/\" title=\"Gold Medalist Found Sleeping in the Park After Raging Over Olympic Village Conditions - &#039;The Food Is Bad&#039;\">left-wing &#038;ldquo<\/a>;get out the vote&rdquo; group National Vote at Home Institute. During that election, the group <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/13\/controversial-wisconsin-clerk-admits-to-violating-election-law-claims-she-doesnt-understand-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sent<\/a> a Democrat operative to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he gained access to absentee ballots and guided the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/controversial-wisconsin-clerk-admits-to-violating-election-law-claims-she-doesnt-understand-it\/\" title=\"Wisconsin Clerk Admits Breaking Election Law, Cites Lack of Understanding\">ballot curing process<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h4>An Authoritarian Trend<\/h4>\n<p>Benson has previously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FxIJZz7yz6w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">threatened<\/a> counties that hesitate to certify election results with legal action, emphasizing canvassers are only allowed to do their job as a &ldquo;ministerial&rdquo; task.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If someone were to violate the law and not certify the election at the local level, we will come for you,&rdquo; Benson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Jb59sk-UmAw&amp;t=225s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> in a YouTube video. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t even think about it, because we&rsquo;ll get you.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Benson asked Michiganders to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/02\/secretary-of-state-asks-michiganders-to-report-their-neighbors-for-election-misinformation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> others for spreading election &ldquo;misinformation,&rdquo; as The Federalist first reported Aug. 2.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Soon after this news broke, a resident came forward saying Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/07\/letter-from-michigan-ag-threatens-resident-with-prosecution-for-misleading-election-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">threatened<\/a> to prosecute her in criminal court for &ldquo;misinformation&rdquo; unless she removed Facebook posts with concerns about a local polling place.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Benson also <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/02\/secretary-of-state-asks-michiganders-to-report-their-neighbors-for-election-misinformation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">launched<\/a> a &ldquo;Democracy Ambassador&rdquo; program in July, which recruits residents to echo government talking points about elections to silence &ldquo;misinformation.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When the misinformation hits, you can be a voice for truth: a &lsquo;democracy ambassador,&rsquo;&rdquo; Benson said. &ldquo;Any citizen can sign up to get weekly newsletters about the intricacies of voting and elections in our state, so you can be that knowledgeable expert.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h4>Russia Hoaxer A &ldquo;Champion For Democracy&rdquo;<\/h4>\n<p>Benson said during the interview that Elias is a &ldquo;champion for democracy.&rdquo; But the Democrat lawyer and activist was instrumental in engineering the false claims that Trump was working with Russian agents in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>While working for a law firm hired by Hillary Clinton&rsquo;s 2016 campaign, Elias <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/15\/obama-appointed-judge-smacks-down-marc-elias-election-lawfare\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">commissioned<\/a> the infamous Christopher Steele dossier that accused former President Donald Trump of working with Russian interests. He then <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/15\/obama-appointed-judge-smacks-down-marc-elias-election-lawfare\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">peddled<\/a> the dossier to bureaucrats and legacy media, which amplified the message to voters.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2018\/01\/18\/this-defense-of-fbis-handling-of-the-steele-dossier-is-one-of-the-weakest-yet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FBI<\/a> used this supposed <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/10\/12\/even-after-offering-1m-fbi-never-got-corroboration-of-russia-dossier-they-used-to-spy-on-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">evidence<\/a> to illegally spy on the Trump campaign, as The Federalist previously <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/19\/kamala-campaign-hires-notorious-election-meddler-to-serve-as-legal-counsel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>. But later investigations from Special Counsels Robert Mueller and John Durham found <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2019\/03\/24\/breaking-news-barr-to-release-summary-of-mueller-report-1233771\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">no evidence<\/a> Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/storage\/durhamreport.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">conspired<\/a> with Russian agents.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/07\/08\/5th-circuit-keeps-sanctions-on-democrat-russia-hoax-lawyer-marc-elias\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sanctioned<\/a> Elias in 2021 for a &ldquo;lack of candor&rdquo; and making a &ldquo;duplicative motion.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Elias recently <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/19\/kamala-campaign-hires-notorious-election-meddler-to-serve-as-legal-counsel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">joined<\/a> Vice President Kamala Harris&rsquo; campaign as legal counsel.<\/p>\n<p>Benson said Elias has a &ldquo;unique ability to see and predict, and be there in the fight when it happens.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the interview, Elias called Benson a &ldquo;hero.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;re a hero as well,&rdquo; Benson said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Logan Washburn is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawsuit-clark-county-keeps-commercial-addresses-on-voter-rolls\/\" title=\"Lawsuit: Clark County Keeps Commercial Addresses On Voter Rolls\">staff writer covering election integrity<\/a>. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo&#8217;s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is originally from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson reaffirmed her warnings of potential legal consequences for election officials who are reluctant to certify election results during an interview with Democratic attorney Marc Elias, known for his role in the Trump-Russia collusion narrative. In the August 30 interview with Elias&#8217; organization, Democracy Docket, Benson reiterated her stance that counties must certify results without hesitation or face state legal action. She stated, \u201cIt will be much harder legally and practically for anyone to avoid certification,\u201d adding that if there are any delays in certifying results due to dissatisfaction with the outcomes, her office would respond immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Benson referenced Proposal 2 from 2022, which she claimed limited boards of canvassers&#8217; discretion regarding certification duties to a mere administrative task. She emphasized that those in positions responsible for certifying elections have an obligation to do so and warned of repercussions if they fail to fulfill this duty. Dismissing concerns about election integrity as mere &#8220;political pressure,&#8221; she asserted that attempts to challenge certified results would not succeed and would lead to legal ramifications.<\/p>\n<p>Benson accused individuals raising questions about election integrity of acting in bad faith and attempting to undermine public confidence in the electoral process. She criticized their efforts as attempts at creating controversy around what she described as a nonpartisan initiative aimed at increasing voter engagement.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these claims, it was noted that Benson had previously sought input from left-leaning organizations on absentee ballot rules prior to the 2020 election. Additionally, she has threatened local officials with legal action should they refuse or delay certification processes.<\/p>\n<p>In her remarks during the interview, Benson referred positively to Elias as a &#8220;champion for democracy,&#8221; despite his involvement in promoting unfounded allegations against Donald Trump regarding Russian collusion during the 2016 campaign through his work on the Steele dossier. This dossier was later discredited by investigations revealing no evidence supporting claims of conspiracy between Trump and Russian agents.<\/p>\n<p>Elias has faced sanctions from courts for misconduct related to his legal practices but continues his political involvement as counsel for Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019 campaign. At the conclusion of their discussion, both he and Benson praised each other\u2019s contributions within their respective roles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":507,"featured_media":2337280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-05-at-10.43.12%E2%80%AFAM-1024x552.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[34685,4601,5894,35945,4855],"class_list":["post-2337279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-election-officials","tag-michigan","tag-politics","tag-secretary-of-state","tag-threats"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-05-at-10.43.12%E2%80%AFAM-1024x552.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2337279","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\/507"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2337279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2337279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2337280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2337279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2337279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2337279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}