{"id":2394115,"date":"2025-01-23T05:43:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T10:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/benson-has-proven-time-and-again-she-is-unfit-to-govern\/"},"modified":"2025-01-23T05:45:10","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T10:45:10","slug":"benson-has-proven-time-and-again-she-is-unfit-to-govern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/benson-has-proven-time-and-again-she-is-unfit-to-govern\/","title":{"rendered":"Benson Has Proven Time And Again She Is Unfit To Govern"},"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\">22<\/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%2Fbenson-has-proven-time-and-again-she-is-unfit-to-govern%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=2394115&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&#8217;s Democratic Secretary of State\u200d Jocelyn Benson \u2064recently announced her candidacy for governor. Critics argue that her track record raises questions about\u200d her suitability for the \u2064position. Allegations \u200cagainst\u2062 Benson include collusion with groups\u200d funded by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg too influence election outcomes, tampering with\u200c voting rules,\u2062 and making authoritarian threats. <\/p>\n<p>Benson has a controversial history related to election integrity, having <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/san-francisco-school-board-reverses-decision-to-rename-schools\/\" title=\"San Francisco School Board Reverses Decision to Rename Schools\">faced multiple lawsuits<\/a> over issues like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alaskas-special-election-is-a-template-for-how-the-left-wants-to-rig-the-vote\/\" title=\"Alaska\u2019s Special Election Is A Template For How The Left Wants To Rig The Vote\">bloated voter rolls<\/a> and improperly processed ballots. \u2062Despite claiming to enhance election security and fairness, \u200cmany beleive her actions have undermined\u2064 democratic processes.As \u200bshe enters the gubernatorial race against Detroit\u200c Mayor Mike duggan and\u2064 Republican state Senator aric \u200dNesbitt, critics emphasize that Benson cannot \u2062uphold her oath to\u200c support the U.S. Constitution and Michigan&#8217;s constitution in \u2062good faith,given her \u200bprevious conduct\u2063 during\u2062 her \u200btenure as Secretary of state.  <\/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&rsquo;s Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced her bid for <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JocelynBenson\/status\/1882024319368237538\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">governor<\/a> on Wednesday morning. But she has shown repeatedly she is unfit to govern the state.<\/p>\n<p>Michigan&rsquo;s governor must take an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/-\/media\/Project\/Websites\/lara\/about\/ohr\/Folder3\/CS-314_Oath_of_Office_68217_7.pdf?rev=a6b3724f463445c3a379dd7f030c016c#:~:text=OATH%20OF%20OFFICE&amp;text=I%20do%20solemnly%20swear%20(or,the%20best%20of%20my%20ability.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">oath<\/a> to &ldquo;support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this state.&rdquo; Considering Benson&rsquo;s history &mdash; from colluding with &ldquo;Zuckbucks&rdquo; groups to tampering with elections to making authoritarian threats &mdash; she cannot take this oath in good faith.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Woman who allows Chinese nationals to vote in our elections and silences her constituents on social media, and refuses to clean Michigan voter rolls says she &ldquo;protects every vote&rdquo; and is &ldquo;transparent&rdquo;  <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ybbgI0nzrc\">pic.twitter.com\/ybbgI0nzrc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Anna Hoffman (@shoesonplease) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/shoesonplease\/status\/1882051437817155919?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 22, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In the race for governor, Benson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/whos-running-michigan-governor-jocelyn-benson-launches-campaign\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">faces<\/a> Democrat Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, running as an independent, and Republican state Sen. Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt.<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Zuckbucks&rsquo; Collusion<\/h2>\n<p>Benson has a history of working with groups connected to &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/zuck-bucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zuckbucks<\/a>,&rdquo; the scheme that flooded leftist nonprofits with millions to boost Democrat turnout in 2020.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Center for Election Innovation and Research (CEIR) accepted nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/center-for-election-innovation-research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$70 million<\/a> from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2020 and funneled the money to local election offices in primarily Democrat areas. Zuckerberg also funneled money through the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/center-for-tech-and-civic-life\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Center for Tech and Civic Life<\/a> (CTCL), so the election funding totaled nearly $400 million.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The National Vote at Home Institute, which repeatedly conspired with CTCL to influence election administration, worked with Benson to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/03\/25\/exclusive-zuckerberg-connected-nonprofit-helped-shift-michigans-2020-voting-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">change<\/a> voting rules. As The Federalist reported, the group&rsquo;s then-CEO Amber McReynolds <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/03\/25\/exclusive-zuckerberg-connected-nonprofit-helped-shift-michigans-2020-voting-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suggested<\/a> to Benson in 2019 that she use &ldquo;rule-making authority&rdquo; to enable &ldquo;permanent or election specific absentee requests&rdquo; without any &ldquo;legislative change.&rdquo; Benson ultimately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/sos\/resources\/news\/2020\/05\/19\/benson-all-voters-receiving-applications-to-vote-by-mail\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mailed<\/a> absentee ballot applications statewide in 2020.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In September 2020, the same year in which it used &ldquo;Zuckbucks&rdquo; to influence elections, CEIR sent <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/01\/why-is-michigans-secretary-of-state-working-with-election-meddler-david-becker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$12 million<\/a> to the Michigan Center for Election Law and Administration &mdash; which Benson had led until February of that year. According to InfluenceWatch, Benson&rsquo;s former group then sent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/center-for-election-innovation-research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$11 million<\/a> in &ldquo;consulting fees&rdquo; to Democrat firms for so-called &ldquo;nonpartisan voter education.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In 2024 Benson continued to work with CEIR ahead of November&rsquo;s election. She <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/01\/why-is-michigans-secretary-of-state-working-with-election-meddler-david-becker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hosted<\/a> its founder and executive director, David Becker &mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/person\/david-becker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">known<\/a> as a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-is-michigan-working-with-election-meddler-david-becker\/\" title=\"Why Is Michigan Working With Election Meddler David Becker?\">hard-core leftist&#038;rdquo<\/a>; &mdash; in July to lecture residents on election &ldquo;security and safety,&rdquo; thanking him for his work &ldquo;to strengthen our democracy.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Election Tampering<\/h2>\n<p>Benson&rsquo;s campaign website calls her a &ldquo;national expert on voting rights.&rdquo;&nbsp;The site further states, &ldquo;As Secretary of State she has <a href=\"https:\/\/jocelynbenson.com\/priorities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">transformed<\/a> our democracy, ensured free and fair, transparent and secure elections &hellip; and implemented reforms to protect the safety and security of every person regardless of their race, gender, faith, or sexuality.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>On the first count, correct &mdash; she has certainly &ldquo;transformed our democracy&rdquo; in Michigan but by tampering with voting rules. As for the rest of the claims, Benson&rsquo;s history shows they are patently false.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Benson has faced repeated election integrity lawsuits over issues that include the state&rsquo;s severely <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/13\/michigan-has-more-registered-voters-than-eligible-citizens-in-53-counties-says-rnc-lawsuit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bloated voter rolls<\/a>, last-minute poll worker <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/10\/05\/lawsuit-michigan-secretary-of-state-broke-the-law-with-rogue-restrictions-on-poll-challengers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">restrictions<\/a>, guidance causing &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/13\/rnc-sues-michigan-secretary-of-state-claiming-thousands-of-improperly-processed-ballots\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">thousands<\/a>&rdquo; of improperly processed ballots, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/01\/michigan-requires-clerks-to-record-signature-verification-after-rnc-suit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lack<\/a> of signature verification. In September of last year, she <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/11\/michigan-secretary-of-state-refuses-to-tell-congress-whether-dead-people-are-on-voter-rolls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">refused<\/a> to tell Congress if dead registrants were still on Michigan&rsquo;s voter rolls.<\/p>\n<p>When billionaire Elon Musk asked whether Michigan had more registered voters than eligible citizens, Benson tried to debunk him &mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/22\/michigan-secretary-of-state-spreads-false-data-while-accusing-elon-musk-of-sharing-disinformation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">incorrectly<\/a> citing data in the process. She cited the &ldquo;voting age population&rdquo; as &ldquo;citizens of voting age,&rdquo; making the disparity between eligible citizens and registered voters appear smaller than in reality. And while she claimed 1.2 million registrations were slated for removal, only half that number were set for removal by 2027.<\/p>\n<p>Six secretaries of state, including Benson, agreed to fight a so-called &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/21\/secretaries-of-state-wont-explain-coordinated-effort-to-fight-common-adversary-in-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">common adversary<\/a>&rdquo; in November&rsquo;s election. When The Federalist asked what &mdash; or who &mdash; this adversary might be, Benson&rsquo;s office did not reply.<\/p>\n<p>Benson <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/28\/rfk-jr-makes-last-ditch-effort-to-withdraw-name-from-blue-wall-ballots\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fought<\/a> Robert F. Kennedy Jr.&rsquo;s efforts to remove his name from November&rsquo;s ballot in Michigan, potentially aiming to help Vice President Kamala Harris&rsquo; chances against Trump. He still won the state. <\/p>\n<p>When a Chinese national allegedly voted at the University of Michigan in November, officials still <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/30\/a-noncitizen-cast-an-illegal-vote-in-michigan-and-officials-are-counting-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">counted<\/a> the ballot &mdash; even though he now faces criminal charges. And as of last month, he was <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/12\/10\/exclusive-chinese-national-who-allegedly-voted-in-michigan-is-still-on-the-voter-rolls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">still<\/a> on the state voter rolls.<\/p>\n<h2>Authoritarian Rhetoric<\/h2>\n<p>Benson has repeatedly made threats toward political dissenters. As The Federalist reported before November&rsquo;s election, she asked residents 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 to a government email address for speech deemed &ldquo;misinformation.&rdquo; Just days after this revelation, state Attorney General Dana Nessel &mdash; also a Democrat &mdash; <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 a woman for posting allegedly &ldquo;misleading or false&rdquo; election information online.<\/p>\n<p>Benson also threatened &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/05\/michigan-secretary-of-state-threatens-election-officials-again-calls-russia-hoaxer-champion-for-democracy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legal consequences<\/a>&rdquo; if local election officials hesitate to certify November&rsquo;s results. When a Kalamazoo canvasser later said he would certify election results if accurate, leftist groups <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/10\/push-to-rubber-stamp-elections-invites-lawfare-groups-to-harass-officials-like-this-michigan-canvasser\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">descended<\/a> to wage lawfare.<\/p>\n<p>In Benson&rsquo;s video announcing her bid for governor, she bragged about &ldquo;investigating radical extremist groups.&rdquo; Using the standard of her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/person\/jocelyn-benson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">former employer<\/a>, the Southern Poverty Law Center, this could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/hate-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">include<\/a> conservative and religious freedom groups.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We need leaders who are transparent and accountable,&rdquo; Benson said in the video. Considering Benson&rsquo;s history, these words do not describe her.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Logan Washburn is a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">staff writer covering election integrity<\/a>. He is a spring 2025 fellow of The College Fix. 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 from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michigan&#8217;s Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced her gubernatorial run, but her past actions raise concerns about her fitness to govern<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":507,"featured_media":2394116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Benson-1-1024x595.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[20076,20683,32171],"class_list":["post-2394115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-benson","tag-governance","tag-political-commentary"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Benson-1-1024x595.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2394115","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=2394115"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2394115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2394119,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2394115\/revisions\/2394119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2394116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2394115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2394115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2394115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}