LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Let’s get this out of the way first: yes, it’s legal for a secretary of state to oversee elections while also being on the ballot. States run elections. Most states, Michigan included, designate the secretary of state as the chief election official. No federal law says, “Hey, maybe don’t referee your own game.”
So if the question is “Can she?” – the answer is yes. If the question is “Should she?” – that’s where things get dicey. Common sense says it’s not a good idea. At the very least, it’s bad optics.
When the referee is also running the race.
Michigan Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is currently viewed as the frontrunner and likely gubernatorial nominee for her party. At the same time, she remains in charge of election administration. In any other arena – courts, corporate governance, even youth sports – we understand the concept of recusal and conflicts of interest. Judges step aside. Board members abstain. Referees don’t suit up if their kid is on one of the teams. But in election law, we shrug and say, “Well, that’s just how it’s always been.”
Lawsuits and scrutiny descend on Benson.
This wouldn’t feel quite so uncomfortable if Benson were operating in a vacuum. She isn’t. She’s facing multiple lawsuits on different fronts, including litigation tied to election administration practices and a separate racial discrimination lawsuit filed by current and former employees.
She is INTENTIONALLY keeping non-citizens on the voter rolls.
She refuses to cooperate with the Justice Department.
Her own staff is SUING her for discrimination.
Yet the media “wonders” why I asked the DOJ to oversee Michigan’s 26 election?
JOCELYN BENSON CAN’T BE TRUSTED. https://t.co/riDJLwQxV3
— Aric Nesbitt (@aricnesbitt) January 13, 2026
Add that to heightened scrutiny over non-citizen voting concerns in Macomb County raised by local clerks recently, and you’ve got a perfect storm of distrust – fair or not. And perception matters. Elections don’t just need to be fair. They need to look fair.
Legal doesn’t mean smart.
The law assumes good faith but it usually doesn’t check abuses until after the fact. What it doesn’t do well is address conflicts that undermine public confidence in real time.
MORE NEWS: Too Many Routine Calls? Waterford Fire Dept. Wants Cost Recovery
In November of 2025, a group of 22 Michigan Republican lawmakers penned a letter to Trump- appointed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding federal election “oversight” for Michigan’s elections.
State Representative Rachelle Smit (R-District 43), one of the letter’s signatories, told PIME (Pure Integrity Michigan Elections), “Secretary Benson will be running the very election in which she appears on the ballot as a candidate for governor. This isn’t just a theoretical conflict of interest – it’s an actual, unavoidable one. No candidate should be allowed to administer their own election. Federal oversight isn’t partisan; it’s necessary to ensure fairness and restore public trust.”
Michigan Department of State Chief Communications Officer Angela Benander pushed back saying the lawmakers are using “dangerous, false rhetoric to encourage President Trump to illegally interfere in our state’s ability to hold fair and free elections.”
Despite some critics portraying Michigan’s Secretary of State as a one-woman election command center, the reality is less dramatic according to the Michigan Department of State’s “Elections System Structure Overview.” In the document, they report that Michigan operates one of the most decentralized election systems in the country, with more than 1,500 local clerks responsible for administering elections. The secretary of state sets rules and guidance, but the day-to-day mechanics of voting are largely handled at the local level.
Bottom line.
And yet, decentralization alone doesn’t resolve the underlying concern. Even if the secretary of state isn’t personally counting ballots, the office still writes the rules, issues guidance, and serves as the final authority in election disputes – powers that matter most when trust is already strained and elections are close. While it’s legally permissible for Jocelyn Benson to run for governor while serving as Michigan’s Secretary of State and overseeing the state’s elections, the deeper issue – particularly in a climate rife with election distrust – is not whether she can, but whether she should, if public confidence in the process is to be preserved.
