It's Official!

by: yvette248

Mon Oct 19, 2009 at 11:04:04 AM EDT

For those of you who may have missed the news, Jocelyn Benson formally announced her bid for Secretary of State at press conferences in Grand Rapids, Detroit, Lansing and Flint last week. Jocelyn is running on a platform to make Michigan the model for fair, accountable, and efficient elections. A concept that sounds almost quaint to those of us who watched the debacle of politics gone wild during the 2008 elections.

For the many non political wonks here who want to know why this office is so important, we don’t have to go much farther than Macomb County, where the chairman of the Republican Party tried to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting. Contrary to the common sense of a 12-year-old, the party leaders of Macomb County decided in their unbridled attempt to subvert the democratic process, that if your house was listed as a foreclosure, that means you are no longer a citizen, registrant, or voter in Macomb County. Nevermind simple little facts like:

1. Even after foreclosure, most people have up to a year to move out of their homes.
2. You could have made financial arrangements with the new owners to stay in your home.
3. You could be living right down the street from your old address, which would still make you a properly registered voter.
4. You just plain can’t use foreclosure procedures as a ruse to deny people the right to vote.

Election watch advocates pulled the cover on this tactic and the underhanded dealings became national news. Reporters reported, lawyers sued, and finally thirteen senators petitioned the Justice Department to guarantee that voters were not harassed at the polls, most notably Carl Levin, Debbie Stabenow, Barack Obama (D- IL), Edward Kennedy (D- MA) and Joseph Biden (D-DE).

Yes, so while most media attention will focus on the governor and congressional races, from time to time, the little bitty office of Secretary of State becomes big, huge news. In 2000, Florida became the laughing stock of the entire world because of an incompetent, corrupt, partisan ideologue who flip-flopped between whose vote would and would not be counted. Four years later, Ohio had more than its share of voting problems ranging from breakdowns in electronic voting machines to accusations of widespread voter disenfranchisement. Ohio elected Jennifer Brunner their new Secretary of State, under whose leadership the 2008 elections went much smoother.

2010 is quickly approaching and the battle to become Michigan’s next Governor, Congressman and State legislator is rapidly gearing up. Obama landslide aside, Michigan is still very much a battleground state and our purple status is still being hotly contested. The 2010 U.S. Census count and the inevitable losses due to redistricting is also looming on the horizon. If there was ever a time to have a highly regarded voting rights expert helming the ship, this is that time.

Jocelyn wants to modernize our voter registration, voting and driver licensing processes in the State of Michigan and make us a model for other states to follow. In yesterday's Lansing State Journal oped, she writes: 

The laws that govern our elections are antiquated and outdated. Michigan is one of only a handful of states with restrictions on absentee voting. Voters in Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, and almost 30 other states are able to vote absentee freely...

Jocelyn is a party leader but not a partisan. She is a highly respected professor, lawyer and election expert, running an unprecedented grassroots campaign to become our next Secretary of State and needs our support.

For more information, visit www.votebenson.com.