WATCH: Benson discusses GOP election reform bills
Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP
FILE - In this March 3, 2020 file photo, voters cast their ballots in the California Primary on Super Tuesday at a voting center at Union Station in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, File)
By: FOX 17
and last updated 2021-04-15 11:53:18-04
LANSING, Mich. â Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson held a news conference Thursday morning to discuss state Republicans election reform bills.
She was joined by other state Democrats and Detroit-area groups interested in voting rights.
The proposed election bills would change how the state handles absentee ballots and early voting, among other things.
Senate Oversight Committee chair wants Benson to attend hearing
David Eggert/AP
and last updated 2021-04-05 13:13:20-04
LANSING, Mich. â GOP members of the Michigan Senate Oversight Committee are asking Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to testify at a hearing in the coming weeks.
Instead of having Benson participate in the hearing, her office plans to send Director of Elections Jonathan Brater in her place, according to a letter from the committee.
However, Sen. Edward McBroom says itâs âimperativeâ that the stateâs chief election officer, Benson, also be present at a hearing on elections.
âThe invitation for you to speak before the committee was provided well in advance, with a commitment to openness and transparency,â McBroom said. âTo be respectful of your time and ensure the hearing is productive, I even agreed to a pre-committee meeting to allow you the ability to prepare your answers in advance and to understand the objectives of t
Credit Jodi Westrick / Michigan Radio
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson put out guidance to county and local clerks for signature matching on absentee ballots in October, prior to the 2020 election. Now, a Court of Claims judge has ruled that guidance to be invalid.
In October, Benson said that a signature on an absentee ballot should be presumed valid unless it differed “in multiple, significant and obvious respects from the signature on file.”
Allegan County Clerk Robert Genetski and the Michigan Republican Party brought a lawsuit against Benson in her official capacity in December over the rule.
Judge Christopher Murray wrote in his opinion that Benson did not follow rule-making processes when issuing guidance, and so clerks did not have to follow the rule in upcoming elections.
This will force online services, self-service stations and the branch office appointment system to be unavailable from 5 p.m. Thursday, March 11, until 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 16.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson will hold a news conference Monday morning to discuss bills in the state Legislature that she believes will help improve government transparency.