National: State election officials survived Trump’s attacks. Will they survive the ballot box? | Arit John/Los Angeles Times
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and her 4-year-old son were settling in to watch “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” after putting up Christmas decorations when dozens of protesters descended on her home in December 2020 chanting “Stop the Steal” and “We want an audit.” Benson had been on the radar of President Trump and his allies since the spring, when he railed against her decision to send absentee ballot applications to all Michigan voters, calling her a “rogue Secretary.” But the late-night protest, marked by what she described at the time as “armed individuals shouting obscenities,” solidified her role as a central figure in the fight over control of American elections. The stakes have increased heading into the 2022 midterm elections. Democratic groups, donors and incumbents like Benson have raised record amounts to secure seats in battleground states, while Trump loyalists are running on his unfounded election fraud claims, challenging Democrats and Republicans like Georgia’s Brad Raffensperger in their bids to administer elections and sign off on the results. “Secretaries of state are, in the battle over the future of our democracy, serving on the front lines,” said Benson, who is expected to soon announce her reelection plans, in an interview with The Times. “[C]learly the work that we did to successfully defend democracy in 2020 has placed us in a greater spotlight.”
Full Article: Secretaries of states are front and center in 2022 midterms – Los Angeles Times