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Bureau Of Elections Announces The Most Comprehensive Election Audit In Michigan History

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The Michigan Bureau of Elections announced on Wednesday that it will conduct the most comprehensive election audit in state history.

The announcement comes after numerous unsubstantiated allegations of fraud and a protracted effort from both state and national Republicans to cast doubt on the integrity of Michigan’s election process.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said the audit was planned well before the election.

“So recognizing that we are in this unique moment we’re amplifying the work so that people understand we’re doing these audits and understand what they mean so as they hear misinformation they’re fully informed and armed with the information about what we are doing to affirm the accuracy of our elections,” she said.

Secretary Benson said normally the audit wouldn’t garner much attention, but this year Michigan’s election process has attracted the attention of conspiracy theorists and even the President himself.

“Citizens and lawmakers are using false allegations and misinformation to sow seeds of doubt amongst our electorate about the truth of this election which is that it is the most secure, accessible, and accurate in our state’s history,” she said.

Also on Wednesday, Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield said he wanted to give the state Oversight Committee subpoena power to look into “unusually high” allegations of election fraud.

Secretary Benson said she hopes the audit will force people like the Speaker to recognize the elections were fair.

“We certainly hope that at some point, other political leaders in the state like the speaker will recognize the truth and the importance of all elected officials right now allowing facts and data to rule the day instead of partisan agendas,” she said.

Benson said the state will also be looking at every single paper ballot in Antrim County where clerk user-error led to an incorrect unofficial election count.

She said the state is also looking to intervene on a lawsuit in Antrim County alleging voter fraud.

Conspiracies around the state’s election spilled over into Secretary Benson’s personal life over the weekend as protestors took to the street outside her house to protest the election results.

Benson has called those demands “unambiguous, loud, and threatening.”

State Attorney General Dana Nessel has described the gathering outside Benson’s residence as “disturbing,” and said she doesn’t believe protests will stop until state and national republicans decide to publicly accept the election results.

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