Benson says Michigan had high voter turnout with over 5.5M ballots cast

BY ANNA LIZ NICHOLS, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—More than 5.5 million Michiganders turned out in the election, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said during a news update in Detroit Wednesday, the morning after the election.

In contrast to some of the chaos of the 2020 election, which took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, Benson said the process went relatively smoothly, without large-scale disruptions.

Votes are still being counted throughout Michigan. The state is expecting about 6,000 ballots, postmarked by Election Day, to come in the mail from overseas, Benson said, noting her gratitude for all the election workers, including those in Detroit who worked through the night to process ballots.

“Years of planning went into ensuring the protection of every voter and every election official in this election, and I’m pleased to report that the preparation we endured led to a successful 2024 election,” Benson said. “I’m also grateful to the voters of Michigan, who, once again to the third state election cycle, turned out in record numbers to have their voice heard and to help define our collective future.”

More than 2 million people voted in-person on Election Day, Benson said, after 2.2 million people voted absentee and 1.2 million participated in early in-person voting. As the last ballots are tabulated in Michigan, this year could mark the highest voter turnout in state history, Benson said. But regardless it’s worth celebrating that turnout is reminiscent of 2020 when the state had more than 5.5 million voters, setting a state record.

And almost 22,000 new voters participated in the election, Benson said, noting college college towns like East Lansing, where Michigan State University is located, and Ann Arbor, where the University of Michigan is located, accounted for the bulk of those new ballots.

“These numbers were the result of voter education efforts and programs which were implemented, along with partners in the business community, state … and many others throughout the state,” Benson said.

Michigan took several steps since the last election to ensure the safety of voters and election workers, Benson said. She recalled how in 2020, supporters of former president Donald Trump were emboldened by his debunked claims that the election was stolen, and came to cause disturbances in Detroit where the majority Democratic and Black city’s votes were being tabulated.

Former President Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election and was declared the winner in Michigan by the Associated Press shortly after Benson’s news conference.

The 2024 election wasn’t without some of the same attempts at misinformation as 2020, Benson noted, calling attention to Trump’s Election Day claims on his social media platform “Truth Social” where he said, “Philadelphia and Detroit! Heavy Law Enforcement is there!!!”

Earlier in the night on Tuesday, in anticipation of efforts to subvert the will of Michigan voters, Benson said, “Candidates don’t declare who wins elections, voters do.”

There were also bomb threats at Michigan polling places that the FBI determined were hoaxes and originated from Russia.

Members of law enforcement were spread around and inside Huntington Place in Detroit, where the city’s votes were being tabulated, but claims of law enforcement doing anything other than protecting election workers are “easily debunked,” Benson said.

READ MORE: Here’s what we know about how Michiganders voted in this year’s election

This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.