LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has joined forces with the legislature and announced plans to “protect the people who protect democracy.”

In a Tuesday afternoon press release, Benson clarified that those who “protect democracy” are the “thousands of election workers and millions of voters in Michigan.”

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“We are in an era of misinformation with voters being lied to about their right to vote and election workers subject to a near constant barrage of threats and harassment for simply doing their jobs,” Benson said. “We must do more to protect the people who protect democracy.”

State Senator Jeremy Moss and State Representative Penelope Tsernoglou, the chairs of the Senate and House elections committees respectively, are joining Benson on this endeavor, along with Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton), Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), Sen. Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia), Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit), Rep. Tyrone Carter D-Detroit), Rep. Jamie Churches (D-Wyandotte), Rep. Kara Hope (D-Holt), Rep. Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth), and Rep. Amos O’Neal (D-Saginaw).

The group said they would work to:

• Reintroduce and pass legislation to ban and increase the penalty for threatening, harassing, or doxxing election workers.
• Increase the penalty for those who pressure election officials to act illegally.
• Introduce legislation to ban deceptive practices in elections. This includes lying to voters when seeking signatures on petitions and knowingly sharing false information about elections and citizens’ ability to vote.
• Provide sufficient funding to clerks to ensure their security and the security of their elections and voters.

Despite repeated attempts by Michigan News Source to get an answer from Benson’s office, there is no word on when Benson will take 25,000 decedents off the voter rolls, per a court request.