East Michigan News

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson recently released a statement announcing the state’s decision to certify November’s election, according to Michigan.gov.

Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers certified the results of the Nov. 3  presidential election on Monday, Nov. 23. Benson declared that the election was fair, secure and accurately reflected the will of the voters.

"Democracy has prevailed,” Benson told Michigan.gov. “Today’s vote of the State Board of Canvassers to certify Michigan’s November election confirms the truth: The election was fair and secure, and the results accurately reflect the will of the voters. A record-breaking 5.5 million Michigan citizens cast ballots in this election, more than ever before in our state’s history. Their will is clear and unequivocal.”

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson | Wikimedia Commons

She said that there was still work to do and that audits will be conducted to affirm the election results and strengthen the integrity of future elections.

"Now we turn to the important work of implementing a statewide risk-limiting audit and local procedural audits to affirm the integrity of the process and identify opportunities for improvement," said Benson, according to Michigan.gov. "And we will continue working with lawmakers at the state and federal level to strengthen our elections even further in the months ahead."

She ended her statement with praise for the resiliency of democracy and the election.

“Our democracy, like the election officials who administer it, is resilient,” Benson told Michigan.gov. “Today it and they survived an unprecedented attack on its integrity. There will no doubt be more similar attacks in the future, based in falsehoods and misinformation. But then, as now, we will be ready to respond as always with facts, data and the truth."