Michigans top election official is facing serious allegations that she violated the very laws she is sworn to uphold, raising fresh questions about integrity and accountability in a state still scarred by recent electoral controversies.
According to the Gateway Pundit, Michigan activist Robert Davis joined investigative reporter Charlie LeDuff on his No BS Newshour podcast to lay out his case that Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is legally disqualified from appearing on the November ballot. Davis contends that Benson, a Democrat, submitted a false affidavit of identity in her bid for governor, a move he argues should not only bar her from seeking higher office but also cost her the powerful post she currently holds.
Michigans election code is notoriously unforgiving, often disqualifying candidates over technical or seemingly minor paperwork errors, a standard that conservatives have long argued should apply equally to Democrats who champion strict regulatory regimes. Jocelyn Benson should not be certified to appear on the November general election ballot as a Democratic nominee because she filed a false affidavit of identity to qualify as a candidate for governor, Davis declared during the podcast, framing the issue as a straightforward matter of law rather than partisan preference.
Pressed by LeDuff on what exactly Benson is alleged to have done, Davis pointed to the mandatory attestation each candidate must make when filing to run for office. On that affidavit, each candidate has to attest to the fact that as of the date that they signed the affidavit, all campaign-related filing fees and fines required of the candidate or required of their candidate committees have been filed or paid, he explained, underscoring that the requirement is clear and unambiguous.
Davis then alleged that Benson failed that basic test of compliance at the time she signed her paperwork to run for governor. Well, as of the date in which Jocelyn Benson signed her affidavit of identity for to run for governor, she had outstanding late filing fees that she had not paid, uh, as well as it has been subsequently discovered that her candidate committee that was organized for the Secretary of State run had not paid certain late filing fees as well, he said, suggesting a pattern of disregard for rules that ordinary candidates ignore at their peril.
The irony, Davis noted, is that Benson is not just another office-seeker but the states chief elections officer, entrusted with enforcing the very statutes she is now accused of violating. Now, she is the chief elections officer that is supposed to enforce the Michigan election law that requires each candidate to truthfully attest to those statements on the affidavit of identity. And she did not. And so now I filed a he began, before LeDuff cut in to ask about the legal consequences.
When LeDuff inquired, Whats the penalty on that? Davis responded by citing the mandatory nature of the law, leaving little room for discretionary leniency. The penalty is, is that under the amended Michigan election law, a candidate cannot appear on the ballot as a candidate. They have to be decertified. They cannot be certified by the local county clerk, city clerk, or by the secretary of state. Thats just election law. Thats election law, he said, emphasizing that the statute is designed to be applied uniformly, not selectively.
LeDuff then raised the possibility of perjury, noting that even apart from criminal questions about intent, the paperwork failure alone would be disqualifying. If its not only the perjury and maybe thats a separate maybe she didnt know that. Thats separate. Just the fact that your paperworks not in order, its required by Michigan amended law that you not be certified for the for to run for the office, he observed, to which Davis replied firmly, It is mandatory.
For many conservatives who have long argued for equal enforcement of election lawsespecially after the battles surrounding President Trumps electoral challengesDaviss complaint will be seen as a test of whether Democrat officials are finally held to the same strict standards imposed on everyone else. As the video clip from the No BS Newshour circulates and legal proceedings unfold, voters will be watching closely to see whether Michigans political establishment chooses accountability under the law or protection of one of its own.
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