Michigan SOS reviews bomb threats, false claims in post-election press conference

Michigan’s Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson praised the state’s mostly uninhibited election process but highlighted some issues that had occurred on election night, including bomb threats, online misinformation and a ballot-transport traffic crash.

The Associated Press called the presidential election race in Michigan President-elect Donald Trump at 12:54 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday.

“Yesterday went very smoothly, but it was not without incident,” Benson told the press. “We are aware of non-credible bomb threats that targeted some polling locations in Washtenaw, Wayne, Genesee and Saginaw counties. The FBI has issued statements officially confirming that those were tied to Russia.”

The bomb threats did not prevent any Michigan voters from casting their ballots.

Benson condemned the doctored videos circulating online that falsely claimed there was widespread voter fraud occurring at polling locations across the state, as well as Trump’s claims that significant law enforcement officers were deployed in Detroit.

“Those false claims were easily debunked, and I’m grateful to so many of our partners for helping us ensure trusted information ruled the day,” Benson said.

Benson also confirmed the story that a vehicle transporting ballots was involved in a crash in Detroit, but said that all ballots were accounted for by law enforcement at the scene.

Benson said the slower counting process in tabulating the results was expected and that there were no technical or security issues during the process, though it took more time for ballot data to upload than anticipated.

“It was really the time it took from when it got to the county to when it appeared online, that upload. That was really where we saw the slowness occur,” Benson said. “And I think I’d also attribute it to the fact that everyone was being so careful. We knew the immense scrutiny that this process was under, and I think everyone was very much on edge and trying to make sure they did everything right.”

There are still around 6,000 outstanding military and overseas ballots that need to be tabulated.

Roughly 22,000 new voters registered on Election Day and more than 2 million Michiganders voted in person on Election Day. More than 5.5 Michiganders in total voted in the 2024 election, roughly equivalent to record-breaking 2020 numbers.