Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) on Friday criticized Republican Party efforts in several states to revise election rules, arguing that the Republican Party is currently “led by people who do not believe in democracy.”
Durant a Friday interview with Ali Velshi of MSNBC, Benson said recently passed or proposed laws in some states are a direct response to “great franchising ”in the last elections, including 2020, when a record number of people voted, especially those from minority communities.
“Everything is in jeopardy if you don’t have that power to determine who represents you and hold them accountable,” Benson said. “And it is reprehensible that those who now lead should try to take away that power.”
The interview followed the Georgian government. Brian Kemp
Brian Kemp: Democrats See Georgia as Opening War Against Voting Rights Tornado leaves at least 1 dead in Newnan, Georgia Bill Clinton on Georgia’s new voting restrictions: “An attack on our democracy” MORESigning on Thursday evening of a controversial law imposing voting restrictions on the state, including limiting the number of polling station locations and the need for photo IDs to vote in absentia. The law also gives state legislators broad powers over how elections are conducted.
Michigan senators introduced similar legislation Wednesday putting limits on absentee voting in the state, including identification and prevention requirements the secretary of state does not send unsolicited absentee ballot applications or make them available online.
Republicans argue that the bills would help restore confidence in the state’s voting system that they themselves helped undermine through months of discredited claims that election results in Michigan were manipulated with widespread fraud.
However, Benson, who after the 2020 election, faced threats of violence from some others President Trump
Donald Trump: Democrats see Georgia as an opening war against MLB voting rights could move Georgia’s all-star party after controversial new electoral restrictions.Supporters voting to certify President Biden’s victory said Friday that Michigan’s proposed voting laws “it would significantly hinder people’s access to the right to vote.
“There are a number of things that make voting administration in Michigan very, very difficult and will have a clear impact that will make it difficult for people to vote, particularly in historically deprived communities of law, in urban communities, among young voters “. Benson said.
He went on to say that the recent proposals “really emphasize that the Republican Party of Michigan and across the country is a party led by people who do not believe in democracy.”
“History teaches us that many times after those moments with a big franchise there are efforts for disauthorization … and that’s also what we’re seeing now,” Benson said.
Democrats have criticized the list of new bills, with President Biden on Friday calling the new law of Georgia “Jim Crow in the 21st Century, ”due to the disproportionate impact it is expected to have on black voters in the state, who set a record in 2020 and 2021 to achieve electoral victories for Democrats.
Kemp, however, pushed back on this characterization, writing in a statement: “There is nothing about ‘Jim Crow’ that requires a photo or ID issued by the state to vote by no vote; all Georgia voters must already do so. do when they vote in person “.