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Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is assuring voters that upcoming elections will not falter despite the coronavirus pandemic, making sure that no citizen has to choose between their health and the right to vote.

Last week, Benson joined a virtual townhall hosted by Emgage, a Muslim American civic engagement organization, where she talked about absentee voting and election workers.

With the current health crisis, Benson is encouraging voters to cast ballots by mail. All eligible and registered voters in Michigan may now request an absent voter ballot without providing a reason after a constitutional change during the 2018 election. Nearly a million voters took advantage of their new right in the presidential primary election last month.

The right to vote by mail for every citizen in our state isnot changing. Its going to be available in every election this year, and every election will be held this year. For citizens that are able and want to exercise that right, you can request your ballot be mailed to you directly. You can find that request from on our website or with your local clerk. Simply fill it out, sign it and return it and when the time comes you will receive your ballot in August and November, Benson said. I encourage you to do that, and to encourage members of your community to do that as well. Oftentimes people dont know they have that right, and if they do they dont know how to access it.

Many jurisdictions have decided to postpone their May election to August, but communities that need to hold their election in May will do so primarily by mail. All registered voters were mailed applications to apply for an absentee ballot, along with postage paid return envelopes if they had a May election scheduled.

Clerk offices will remain open through election day for voters with disabilities and people who forget to mail their ballot in time and need to drop it off, and must be available for any same-day voter registrations.

Senator Ruth Johnson, former secretary of state and chair of the state Senate Elections Committee, called the vote-by-mail plan an absolute disaster. She had been urging Governor Whitmer to push the elections to August.

Senator Ruth Johnson

Ive been begging them to reschedule and consolidate with August, I warned them of all the potential problems and now what were seeing is even worse than feared, she said. We saw these issues in Wisconsin. People reported never getting an absentee ballot they request or a ballot they completed not getting back to the clerk in time to be counted.

Due to Michigans robust vote by mail option, Benson says we are better positioned to avoid a situation much like what happened in Wisconsin during their recent in-person presidential primary.

Milwaukee election officials announced the city would open only five polling locations for the primary. The city typically has 180 voting cities, but axed other locations due to mass poll worker shortages.

In Michigan, were much better positioned to avoid a situation like what happened in Wisconsin from the get-go. We have a robust vote by mail program that is established, it is sacrosanct, it is in our constitution and weve been working to implement it effectively since I took office over a year ago, Benson said. The vote by mail system was created by voters. Because of that, so many voters already want to do it and believe in the system.

For now, communities with scheduled elections are moving ahead with preparations to ensure voters and poll workers safety. Election workers will be provided with PPE equipment, and Bensons office is developing physical distancing guidelines.

Were working to ensure that all voters can have confidence when they access their vote, however they choose to access it in an election this year, that their vote will be counted safely and securely, and were putting protections in place for all who are working elections as well so they can do their essential job safely and securely, Benson said.

Bensons office is aggressively recruiting new election workers, as many of the seniors who usually serve and staff elections may not want to risk in-person interactions on the next election day. The recently launched Democracy MVP program encourages citizens to sign up to be an election worker to assist clerks and count ballots. Workers will not serve at traditional polling places, and will adhere to strict public health guidelines. Learn more and fill out the interest form at Michigan.gov/DemocracyMVP.

Over 1,600 people applied in 10 days to be a part of the program, which is four times whats needed for the May 5 election, according to Benson. However, she encourages citizens to continue to sign up.

We are at a very unique and critical moment in the history of our country. But as much as theres a health crisis, as much as theres an economic crisis, theres also a potential crisis for our democracy if we dont preserve the access and integrity of our elections, Benson said. That requires all of us as citizens to stand up and ensure that our democracy stays on schedule, thats why were moving forward with our elections.

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Secretary of State: 'Democracy will not falter in age of COVID-19' - Spinal Column Online