Michigan Official Says Election Voting is Secure But Results Slow

“Despite the attempts to meddle in our elections that have been reported at a national level, Michigan’s elections system is more secure than ever, and voters should have full faith that every vote will be counted and results will be reported accurately"

Those are the words of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, speaking on Thursday about the security of voting in the state of Michigan, and specifically about this Tuesday's up coming primary.

Says Benson, "My administration has done significant work to bolster our election security, and we will continue to do so through the November election and beyond.”

Among the moves made by the Secretary of State's office in the past year, Benson says she hired "the state’s first election security expert, joined ERIC, the national Electronic Registration Information Center, to ensure accuracy of voting rolls, and partnered with the Department of Homeland Security and other organizations and experts to review and test Michigan’s election system."

One new challenge is how local election clerks in Michigan will deal with the amendment to Michigan's constitution that allows absentee voting without needing a reason, and allowing registration through Election Day.The Secretary of State says compared to one week before the 2016 primary, there has been an 80 percent increase in applications for absentee ballots and more than 500,000 absentee ballots have already been cast. These changes increase the workload for clerks on what is already a very busy day and will likely mean Tuesday’s results will be available later than they have been historically.