LANSING - Election season is officially underway in Michigan, as the first set of absentee ballots are on their way to voters.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said today that over 1.8 million voters have requested their absentee ballot, including 1.6 million on the permanent absentee ballot list.
Benson encouraged the public to get the facts on Michigan’s election system, which is decentralized and administered by local clerks. She offered her support to election workers, stressing that intimidating an election official is a crime in Michigan.
Benson also announced $5 million in grant funding available to local jurisdictions for security enhancements through election day.
Benson warned voters to be wary of misinformation on social media, highlighting intelligence reports that foreign adversaries are attempting to influence American elections.
“I know that I, along with the 1600 bipartisan professional clerks across our state, will continue to spend every minute that we can working to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat in our state, we will do that because it’s our honor, our duty, and because we know that the votes our citizens will cast in the next 45 days will define the future of our countr,” she said.
Benson says the Secretary of State’s office will be leading ad and public outreach campaigns to support accurate election information, along with announcing new options for tracking your absentee ballot to ensure it arrives by Election Day.
Benson encouraged voters to make sure they’re registered to vote, which will be available online until Oct. 21. Registration after the Oct. 21 will have to be done in-person and will be available until 8 pm on election day.
More information on Michigan elections, voting options and registration status can be found with the Secretary of State’s office.