In a new book entitled Rigged: How the Media, Big Tech, and the Democrats Seized Our Elections, senior editor at The Federalist Mollie Hemmingway details repeated efforts by Democrats to weaken the electoral process in Michigan before the 2020 election.
According to Hemmingway, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and election attorney Marc Elias worked to “water down” requirements for absentee ballots.
Using a strategy called “sue and settle,” Democrats would engage in legal battles with “friendly” officials in order for the official to settle and provide further initiative to weaken regulations.
“The focus on Michigan was part of a larger operation to water down election security ahead of the 2020 election. Elias had sued Michigan’s Democratic secretary of state Jocelyn Benson in the Democratic super PAC’s name over laws that required signatures on absentee ballots to match signatures on files with the registrar. He would end up dropping the lawsuit in April 2020, after Benson agreed to instruct election officials to notify voters whose signatures didn’t match so they could fix the problem,” Hemmingway wrote.
“The Michigan lawsuit happened before COVID-19 struck. But when COVID-19 really got going, Elias and his affiliates used hysteria surrounding the pandemic as a pretext to achieve much of what they wanted.”
Additionally, Benson instructed election clerks to “presume” that signatures on absentee ballots were valid, sparking backlash from multiple officials. While a judge agreed the measure had no legal basis, the ruling was issued months after the 2020 election.
Furthermore, Rigged claims that Republican poll watchers in Michigan were routinely blocked from viewing the counting of ballots. The limitation of viewing can be significant because the state election challengers are allowed to object to precinct officials.
Despite multiple lawsuits, Republicans witnessed few victories to increase transparency on the day of the election.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
