SE Oakland News

Among the post-election conflict that has fallen over the state, the Michigan Senate recently passed a resolution honoring the people on the ground at the local level who made Michigan’s election process run smoothly, even in the face of unprecedented challenges related to COVID-19 and record voter turnout, both through absentee ballots and in person.

Michigan Sen. Ruth Johnson (R-Holly), chair of the Senate Elections Committee and former Michigan secretary of state, sponsored Senate Resolution 151, noting the important role that local election workers play in the democratic process, reported MiSenateGOP.

“Our election workers are the heart of our democratic system -- allowing our local clerks and their staffs to provide our citizens with the ability to express their voices as voters,” Johnson said, according to MiSenateGOP. “Every election, these dedicated people work long days to preserve our democracy. This year, they also risked their health and safety to work at the polls on Election Day and at the absent voter counting boards amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Sen. Ruth Johnson | #MiSenateGOP

The language of the resolution acknowledges the record voter turnout during the recent election of 5.56 million total voters, exceeding the previous record set in 2008 with 5.04 million votes recorded, says MiSenateGOP.

“Michigan election workers faced record voter participation, record numbers of absentee voting and uncertain conditions -- yet they persevered and kept our democracy alive,” Johnson told MiSenateGOP. “We cannot thank them enough for their efforts.”

Johnson said that she was proud to sponsor the resolution “to recognize the hard work and commitment of our clerks, their staffs and election workers for everything they did to make the recent general election possible under unprecedented circumstances."