Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Tuesday that more people than ever are voting by mail in Michigan -- the number of mail-in ballot requests has tripled over the last few years -- and that can be concerning to people worried about election security, but the state regularly tests and checks local voting systems to make sure they’re safe.
“Citizens should have full faith and be very proud of the security of our system,” Benson said. “Time and time again, it’s been tested, and time and time again, it’s lived up to those tests, to ensure that every valid vote is counted.”
Benson said today’s primary will be audited by the state like any other election, to make sure officials followed the right procedures, and machines accurately counted the votes.
“We actually conduct audits after every election: procedural audits to ensure that all ballots were properly validated, and then election audits that ensure that ballots, once validated, were accurately counted by the machines,” said Benson.
About 400 communities are voting on candidates and ballot measures today. Polls and ballot drop sites are open until 8 this evening.
