Michigan's Top State Officials Vow 2026 Elections Will Proceed on Schedule, Free of Interference
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II and Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a joint statement on October 22 assuring voters that the 2026 elections will proceed as mandated by the U.S. Constitution and federal and state law, and that the state will not tolerate any attempt to interfere with, delay or intimidate voters.
The statement followed the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which eliminated key protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry subsequently suspended his state's already-underway congressional elections, and on Thursday Tennessee lawmakers approved, and Governor Bill Lee signed, a new U.S. House map that dismantled the state's only majority-Black district.
"States run elections," Benson said. "We will not allow anyone - not the president, the Justice Department, or anti-democracy groups and campaigns - to interfere in our secure, independent process."
Whitmer stressed that Michigan's maps were drawn by the state's independent citizens redistricting commission, are fair and will not change, and that more than 1,600 locally elected clerks will ensure every citizen can vote and every vote is counted. Nessel said her office will fight back against attempts to silence voters, calling the fundamental right to vote "not up for debate."
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：密歇根州议会大厦穹顶（Lansing）。图片来源：Warren LeMay（w_lemay），CC BY-SA 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons / Photo: Dome of the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Warren LeMay (w_lemay), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
