Blog

Webinar: Protecting Michigan's Election Workers

November 2023

Play Video

On Tuesday, November 28, 2023, EOLDN hosted a webinar for Michigan election workers as well as others who are interested are invited to discuss threats to election officials and how EOLDN can help. Speakers included CEIR Executive Director David Becker, EOLDN Co-Chairs Bob Bauer and Ben Ginsberg, EOLDN Project Lead Angie Pitha, Michigan Deputy Secretary of State Achogho Edevbie, and Ottawa County Clerk/Register of Deeds Justin Roebuck.

“They’re citizens. They’re professionals. They’re our neighbors. If we start to view our fellow citizens as our enemies, we’re lost.”

“Election officials never get praised if elections go right and the wrath comes down on them if they do them wrong. When we saw election officials being prosecuted for just doing their jobs... we formed [EOLDN] and we do provide pro bono legal services to any election officials who need it.”

“Those who are threatening … these officials, whether they're full-time, whether they're volunteers, whether they're in positions of the most senior responsibility or they're simply on the staff — those who threaten them need to know they cannot act with impunity. There will be a defense and it will be a robust defense."

"What we are seeing developing now is a huge step backwards from a focus on professionalized election administration to a heavy level of political interference in the work of trained election professionals. Our hope now is to provide [election officials] with a resource I wish they didn't have to have, but one I think they have desperately needed."

A Project of The Center for Election Innovation & Research ("CEIR")