FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 18, 2021
Contact: Tracy Wimmer

(517) 281-1876

Statement from Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on the dismissal of the last case contesting the results of the November 2020 presidential election

In response to the dismissal by 13^th Circuit Court Chief Judge Kevin Elsenheimer, a former Republican state legislator, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson issued the following statement:

“The dismissal of the last of the lawsuits attempting to undermine democracy in furtherance of the Big Lie affirms that despite intense scrutiny, and an unprecedented misinformation campaign, the 2020 election was fair and secure, and the results accurately reflect the will of the voters.”

Antrim County initially released incorrect unofficial election results, which were quickly caught and corrected and determined to have been caused by human error when the County Clerk made an update to some, but not all, of the county’s vote tabulation machines.

Errors in the reporting of unofficial results, if not identified immediately, are caught and corrected during the election canvass process which involves a review of the printed records of vote tabulators. The accuracy of the tabulation machines in Antrim County, which count hand-marked paper ballots, was confirmed again after the election, when a bipartisan group of election officials carried out a public hand tally of all the votes cast for president.

# # #