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| State Rep. Matt Koleszar |
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the chairs of both the Senate and House elections committees, and numerous other lawmakers, including Koleszar, are promoting legislative plans to protect the people who protect democracy - the thousands of election workers and millions of voters in Michigan. “We have made great strides expanding the voice and protecting the vote of every Michigan citizen over these last few years, but we have more work to do,” said Benson. “We are in an era of misinformation with voters being lied to about their right to vote and election workers subject to a near constant barrage of threats and harassment for simply doing their jobs. We must do more to protect the people who protect democracy.”
State lawmakers said they plan to reintroduce and enact legislation to ban and increase the penalty for threatening or harassing election workers and for pressuring election officials to act illegally. The group plans to introduce legislation to ban deceptive practices in elections such as lying to voters when seeking their signatures on petitions and knowingly sharing false information about elections and citizens' ability to vote and will provide sufficient funding to township, city and county clerks to ensure their security and the security of their elections and voters, according to a statement from Benson's office.“I am proud of the work I've done as a member of the House elections committee and I look forward to continuing that work in the majority,” said Koleszar . “Safe and secure elections are the cornerstone of our democracy, and I am happy to continue to work with Secretary Benson on reforms to protect the right to vote and ensure fair, transparent, and accessible elections.”
