A Special Oath, and Early Voting

By Jocelyn Benson, Candidate for Secretary of State
Friday, June 11, 2010

I wanted you to be one of the first to hear: this morning, at the annual meeting of the Oakland County Women Officials' Network, I formally announced my intention to take an “Oath of Nonpartisanship” as Michigan’s next Secretary of State.

I firmly believe that our Secretary of State must operate the office in a nonpartisan manner. That's why upon taking office I will take an oath pledging to the citizens of Michigan that I will operate the office in a neutral and nonpartisan fashion.

That means I will not co-chair any campaigns or endorse any candidates in elections over which I will serve as the final certifier of results. Michigan citizens deserve to have full confidence that their elections are clean, honest and fair.

I call on all other candidates vying to be Michigan's next Secretary of State to follow my lead and do the same.

Also, while other candidates seeking to be Michigan's next Secretary of State have stated their opposition to early voting - including one who just recently launched an online petition to call for the "rejection" of early in-person voting in Michigan - I believe our government works best when as many people as possible are able to take the time to vote.

For that reason, I stand by the many clerks throughout the state of Michigan who on a nonpartisan basis recognize the need to modernize our voting system to allow for in-person early voting, just as has been done in dozens of other states throughout our country.

When I hear facts, like the recent Michigan League of Women Voters poll that showed 70 percent of Michigan voters support efforts to make voting more convenient, I am energized to work even harder to ensure that Michigan citizens enjoy the same types of access to voting that citizens enjoy in our neighboring states.

I want to make Michigan's government work better for you. That's why I will continue to wholeheartedly support in-person early voting and no reason absentee voting in Michigan.

Thank you,
Jocelyn

PS - Are you in support of nonpartisan election administration and early voting in Michigan? Sign our petition calling on all candidates for Secretary of State to take an oath of nonpartisanship and support early voting!