Michigan Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in an interview that she expects the election results in Michigan to be certified on the day after the US election day on November 5.
During a broadcast on Sunday (October 20) on the American Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) program “Face the Nation,” when asked how long she expects it will take for Michigan’s election results to be announced, Benson said, “Well, you know, in 2020, within 24 hours of the closing of the polling stations, we had the highest voter turnout in Michigan’s history. The unofficial results were out before 8 p.m. on Wednesday. So, we are going down that path again this year.”
“We do have more options to handle the ballots earlier than election day, which was restricted in 2020, so I am optimistic that we can see the results faster,” Benson continued to say to host Margaret Brennan, adding that she estimates the best performance for election officials would be to have the results announced by the end of the Wednesday after the election day.
However, the state’s chief election official then added, “Nevertheless, we will always prioritize accuracy and security over efficiency. We understand how eager people are for these results, but we must ensure that this process is safe and accurate before announcing the results to the public.”
Over two million people in Michigan have applied for absentee voting, Benson said in the Sunday interview, noting that just over two weeks, more than one million citizens have already cast their absentee ballots, which she described as “a good sign for the participating voters from both parties.”
Benson also mentioned that Detroit began in-person early voting on Saturday, allowing residents to personally insert their ballots into voting machines at the polling stations.