What is the role of the Secretary of State in American politics? Remember Katherine Harris and the 2000 election?
On June 24, DL21C welcomes Jocelyn Benson, a 34 year old nationally-recognized election law expert running for Secretary of State of Michigan. Jocelyn will be speaking about some very important issues including the enforcement of campaign finance laws, voter protection issues and the essential role that Secretaries of State play in elections.
Michigan is a key state for the mid-term elections and Jocelyn is a true up and coming progressive star.
Michigan’s Secretary of State Office has been controlled by Republicans for 16 years, during which the state has fallen behind nearly every other state in the country in not allowing for early voting or no reason absentee voting. (www.votebenson.com)
This moderated discussion should not be missed!
See you next Thursday night!
About Jocelyn Benson
As one of Michigan’s leading election law experts, Benson has worked to eliminate barriers to voting and preserve the integrity of our elections throughout the state. After earning her B.A. at Wellesley College, she began her career at the Southern Poverty Law Center, investigating hate groups and hate crimes throughout the country. She earned an M.Phil as a Marshall Scholar at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, and subsequently earned her law degree from Harvard Law School. Benson has also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Damon J. Keith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Today, as a law professor at Wayne State University Law School, she not only teaches Election law, she has also published the first major book on the role of the Secretary of State in enforcing election and campaign finance laws. Benson's book, "State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process," highlights best practices of Secretaries from throughout the country and seeks to inform voters about how Secretaries of State from either side of the political spectrum can work to advance democracy and election reform.