State officials — including Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel — say they’re looking into whether people who tried flip the results of the 2020 presidential election in Michigan broke any laws.
“Yes. I do think laws were broken here and I do think there needs to be some sort of accountability,” said Benson, who is Michigan’s top election official, in an interview with Michigan Public Radio.
She said efforts to flip Michigan’s electoral votes to Donald Trump amounted to an attempt to steal votes. The state’s 16 official electoral votes were cast for President Joe Biden, who won Michigan’s popular vote.
Benson said, while the effort to usurp the results was unprecedented, similar efforts to misrepresent election results could be tried again.
“If and when that occurs, it becomes a norm,” she said, “then we really have done damage, serious, potential fatal damage to our democracy.”
Other than announcing the inquiry, a Nessel spokersperson said her office would not be provide further details.
"That matter is part of an investigation into election-related matters; however, we're not currently in a position to share specifics as the review remains ongoing," said Lynsey Mukomel.
Benson said she’s also shared information from her office with the House congressional inquiry into the January 6th insurrection.
She said the effort to subvert the presidential election crossed state boundaries, which could mean federal laws were broken.