MFEI News & Commentary Articles

In a one-two punch last week, Republicans called for help from the Feds in the 2026 election. They claim Benson cannot be trusted.

SOS Jocelyn Benson is bypassing the MI legislature and governing through rulemaking. The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules is powerless to stop her.

Patrice Johnson shows how SOS Benson's risk-limited 2024 audit was indeed fundamentally limited and only scratched the surface of how an election should be audited.

One of MFEI's favorite reporters encourages us to never forget what happened in 2020, especially how COVID changed the conduct of elections.

SOS Jocelyn Benson's audit is late and flawed. No ballots from Detroit or Troy audited.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Stockbridge, MI – September 15, 2025 Michigan Fair Elections Institute (MFEI) is formally submitting opposition to the Michigan Secretary of State’s proposed Rule Set 2025-14 ST to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR), warning that the proposed rules governing pollbooks will undermine election integrity and violate federal and state laws.

A hearing to consider dramatic changes to how state elections are conducted and administered is being held in Lansing on Friday, September 5.   Beginning at 9:30 a.m., Michiganders are allowed to make public comment on 12 administrative rules (R 168.251-168.262) that would impact Michigan election administration.

Michigan’s Bureau of Elections (BoE) investigation of the 15 noncitizens who voted in the state’s 2024 election has spawned a lawsuit. Washtenaw county resident Judi Bennett is suing the BoE for additional information about the investigation.

Will Benson Stonewall the DOJ? . . . More absentee ballot chaos . . . National Poll Worker Recruitment Day

Two candidates have thrown their hats into the ring for Michigan secretary of state. Here's what you need to know.

Officials with the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) are demanding information about how Michigan’s Department of State is complying with federal laws related to elections. Benson has 14 days to comply.

3/4/3: Three quick read headline stories for midweek. Today's 3: Dixon calls Benson “conniving”; RCV aligns with anti-Trump protests ; AG candidate defends alternate electors and criticizes RCV

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s Department of State has instructed Michigan’s county clerks to withhold some of the election data Michigan Fair Elections Institute (MFEI) requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), escalating concerns over election transparency.

March 22, 2024, MI SOS Benson announced Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Data and Science Lab ranked Michigan’s administration of the 2022 midterm elections 2nd in the nation. Praising the MIT experts’ ranking has become one of Benson’s favorite songs, and now MI Rep. Mai Xiong, is joining in. At the recent MI House Election Integrity Committee hearing, Rep. Xiong chimed in with a question for election data expert Braden Giacobazzi that set her up to invoke

Three quick read headline stories for midweek. Today's 3: Ranked choice voting debate heats up as ballot language goes for approval • County clerks deny MFEI access to their state convention • Benson gives LA rioters a big thumbs up

Michigan’s GOP-led House is taking the first steps toward impeaching Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for corrupt conduct in the administration of her office. On Tuesday, Michigan state Rep. James DeSana (R-29th District) held a press conference announcing the intention to introduce House Resolution 118, articles of impeachment, against Benson.

Three quick read headline stories for midweek. Today's 3: What’s next after Benson contempt vote?, Benson’s Responses Analyzed, Aghogho’s Got Competition.

The Michigan House of Representatives escalated its standoff with Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson by voting to hold her and the Michigan Department of State (MDOS) in contempt for failing to comply with legislative subpoenas requesting election training materials for county, city, and township clerks.

Three quick read headline stories, for midweek. Today's 3: SCOTUS decision on MI legislators, Ranked Choice Voting Setback, Benson Broke the Law … Again.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s new book, released earlier this month, The Purposeful Warrior: Standing Up for What’s Right When the Stakes Are High, might be described as part feminist self-help and part Democrat political memoir. The book’s publication and statewide book tour are perfectly timed to launch Benson’s run for Michigan governor, the obvious next step in her determined climb up the political ladder, a climb that began in 2010 when she first ran for