Top Michigan Democrat Wants Investigation Into Election Fraud

Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is calling for an investigation into reports of potential voting machine tampering.

Benson called on state Attorney General Dana Nessel, also a Democrat, and Michigan State Police to investigate reports her office received this week concerning an "unnamed third party" illegally accessing election equipment. Accessing voting machines without authorization is a felony under Michigan state law.

"Protecting the integrity and security of our elections, especially from those who use lies and misinformation to deceive Michigan voters, is a critical component of defending democracy in this moment," Benson said in a statement issued Thursday.

"Michigan law is clear about the security threats that emerge when anyone gains unauthorized access to our election machines or technology, and I will have no tolerance for those who seek to illegally tamper with our voting equipment," she added.

Benson's office said at least one incident of tabulation machines and data drives being accessed without authorization occurred in Michigan's Roscommon County and Richfield Township. The office noted that any potential tampering renders the equipment unusable in future elections and "could require the equipment to be replaced at taxpayer expense."

A Benson spokesperson told The Michigan Advance on Friday that there was "no reason to believe the unauthorized access was gained prior to the 2020 election" but did not specify when the alleged access took place.

A state police spokesperson told the outlet that an investigation into the allegations had already started, while a spokesperson for Nessel said that the referral had been "received."

Newsweek reached out to Nessel's office for comment.

Alongside calling for an investigation, Benson sent a letter to all 1,603 of Michigan's county, city and township clerks, providing the clerks with guidance on how to deal with potential cases of voting equipment tampering.

The letter thanked the clerks for "their tireless effort to protect election security" and reportedly included a reminder that they must "immediately" report any incidents of unauthorized or improper access of voting equipment to the state Bureau of Elections.

Benson's office noted that data taken from voting machines has been used before to prop up false claims of massive 2020 election fraud promoted by President Donald Trump and some of his supporters.

"In December of 2020 a third party also accessed the Dominion vote tabulators in Antrim County following a court order, and then used the data it found to generate a report falsely claiming election fraud," Thursday's press release adds.

"The report was thoroughly debunked by multiple election experts, but not before it was cited as the reason for the federal government to seize tabulation machines in a draft executive order of former president Donald Trump," it continues.

More than a year after President Joe Biden took office, Trump has continued to claim that massive election fraud, some supposedly facilitated with the help of voting equipment, was responsible for his loss. There has been no credible evidence to support his claims.

In December, the Associated Press published a review of every potential voter fraud case in six 2020 battleground states where Trump disputed the results. Fewer than 475 potential cases were found, a number of votes that would not have been enough to change the election outcome in any state.

The alleged fraud cases were also bipartisan, with some of those charged telling investigators that they were Republicans or voted for Trump. There were 56 total instances in Michigan, representing just 0.04 percent of Biden's margin of victory.