Violence and disruptions biggest threats to U.S. election – Michigan official

By Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. election officers see potential violence and disruptions as the most important threats to midterm elections in November, with misinformation fueling these issues, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson stated on Sunday.

Benson, a Democrat, stated election officers from each events are working with regulation enforcement officers to guard the Nov. 8 elections and clarify there might be penalties for individuals who attempt to intervene.

“We’re, in some ways, much more ready this yr than ever earlier than,” she stated on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Michigan, a swing state, has turn into the main focus of a number of high-profile legal instances linked to elections in recent times.

Within the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, alleged militia members have been arrested for plotting to kidnap Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Two of the 13 suspects have been convicted in August.

Earlier this yr, Michigan Lawyer Common Dana Nessel, additionally a Democrat, launched a statewide investigation into alleged unlawful breaches of vote tabulators.

The investigation adopted breaches of native election techniques by Republican officers and activists making an attempt to show former President Donald Trump’s unsupported claims of widespread fraud within the 2020 election.

Authorities in Michigan are at present investigating how a piece of state voting equipment not too long ago surfaced on the market on eBay, Benson stated on Sunday, including that it might have been by accident discarded.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Modifying by Deepa Babington)