Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson wants the media to help her “protect the minds of voters.”

Benson partnered with Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel at the National Press Foundation’s “Election Security” fellowship in Detroit on Monday to discuss how Democrats are “prebunking” perceived misinformation in the run up to November.

Benson specifically focused on the “narrative battle” and implored the media to counter the “era of misinformation” with “greater context” because elections officials are not “narrative experts,” according to the New York Post.

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“It’s much more difficult for us to figure out how to fight that narrative battle, which essentially was about calling things out for what they were … but also really to protect the minds of voters just as we are trying to protect the operations and processes from being misled by this misinformation,” Benson said.

Benson, a former attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center who is angling to replace Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, called for the media’s help with “prebunking what we anticipate … to be an onslaught of misinformation,” specifically citing “noncitizen voting as a scare tactic.”

Nessel noted Michigan’s status as the “ultimate swing state” and a “microcosm of America,” suggesting Democrats and the media must unite against Republicans who oppose their political agenda.

“We are all targets potentially of an autocratic regime that could really fundamentally change things in America, which is what we’ve seen elsewhere,” Nessel said.

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In Michigan, where Democrats leveraged an abortion ballot referendum in 2022 to secure their first government trifecta in 40 years, Whitmer and her allies in the legislature have already limited any investigations of fraud in 2024.

In early July, Whitmer signed Senate Bill 603 at Benson’s behest to eliminate the ability of county canvassers to investigate fraud during recounts, and restrict the basis for requesting a recount to errors that could sway the outcome.

Other changes in the bill increased fees for recounts based on the margin of victory, and allowed for recounts in precincts where ballot counts are out of balance.

While Whitmer contends the legislation will “uphold the democratic process,” others contend SB 603 erases the public’s trust in election outcomes.

“This recount process is designed to ensure the accuracy and fairness of elections,” Senate Legislative Analyst Abby Schneider testified during committee hearings. “This includes granting bipartisan boards of county canvassers the ability to investigate claims of fraud while conducting recounts. By eliminating this ability, and reference to fraud altogether, the bills would prevent bad actors from being held accountable and erode confidence in the state’s election process.”

SB 603 is among several election-related bills promoted by Democrats in Lansing that Republicans said in June are systematically dismantling the ability of election officials to administer fair and accurate elections.

Former Michigan Secretary of State turned state Sen. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, asserts Democrats are “stripping away layer after layer of integrity in our elections, both by laws that are being passed through and by some of the past ballot initiatives that were very deceptive, and a lot of money was spent to make people think some of it was different than it really was.”

“You can go toe-to-toe on anything you want to fight with, but you shouldn’t deceive people,” Johnson said. “You are just using them when you do that. People need to have a say. This is America.”

State Rep. Rachel Smit, a Republican former elections clerk from Martin, opposed SB 603 and other bills from Democrats she contends are simply designed to expedite election victories for their party.

“I’m convinced all of this is being done because the Democrats have a hard time winning otherwise,” Smit said. “If we’ve had the most safe and secure election that we’ve heard time and time again, the last couple of election cycles we’ve had, then why are we doing all (this), the need to have these extreme laws enacted that significantly weaken the security and integrity of our elections?”

No one at the National Press Association event bothered to pose that question to Benson or Nessel.