The Gist Jocelyn Benson on Being a Purposeful / Purple State Warrior
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May 15, 2025 Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State and author of 'The Purposeful Warrior,' discusses her efforts in restoring election integrity after the 2020 turmoil. She shares insights on combating election denialism and the challenges faced by public officials in maintaining democratic ideals. Her experiences highlight the importance of solid leadership during politically charged times. Additionally, Benson touches on the implications of ballot access debates, including the complexities surrounding potential exclusions of candidates like Trump.
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New Era of Election Coordination
- Post-2020, battleground states built unprecedented coordination on cybersecurity and legal election defense.
- This created a national security network for elections still in place despite federal agency decline.
Election Security Agency's Decline
- The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency was decimated after 2020.
- Secretaries of state now struggle to maintain election security without solid federal coordination.
Neutrality on Trump's Ballot Status
- Benson chose not to exclude Trump from Michigan's 2024 ballot because she lacked clear legal authority.
- She believed courts, not elected officials, should decide nuanced legal election disputes to preserve democratic norms.
