January 1, Michigan GOP Wants Feds Watching Governor Race

Wyatt’s Take

• Michigan’s top election official will oversee an election she’s running in.
• Republican lawmakers are demanding outside help to ensure fair play.
• Past actions by election officials have many questioning the process.

Michigan’s Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is running for governor in 2026. She will be managing the very election where her own name is on the ballot.

Twenty-two Republican state lawmakers sent a letter to the attorney general asking for federal monitors to watch over the state’s primary and general elections. Their main worry is letting someone with a direct stake in the race handle the results.

“Secretary Benson will be administering an election in which she has a direct personal stake in the outcome,” the lawmakers said. “Such a situation risks compromising the impartiality required for fair election oversight and demands external federal scrutiny to maintain public trust.”

Lately, the Department of Justice has already been overseeing polling places in California and New Jersey to make sure things are clean and trustworthy. Pam Bondi explained, “Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process.”

The lawmakers also raised concern about Benson’s refusal to share Michigan’s voter registration lists with federal officials. Because of this, officials can’t check if the lists are accurate, which federal law requires.

Critics say this lack of openness means voter rolls stay bloated. An election watchdog group found more than 25,000 dead voters still listed, some for over twenty years. At least 16 noncitizens got to vote in 2024, according to the letter, and earlier, all registered voters were mailed absentee ballot applications without lawmakers’ approval.

There was also controversy when Benson launched her campaign for governor inside a state building. The attorney general’s office found she broke the rules but only gave her a warning.

Elections must be honest, especially when the person in charge wants a new job. No one benefits from uncertainty or shady dealings at the ballot box. Voters deserve to know the process is straight and fair.

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Wyatt Matters

Honest elections are the backbone of freedom. Folks here can’t afford to doubt the results when so much is on the line.