World News – US – Whitmer in election: « Speed ​​is great, accuracy is key »

Tomorrow’s election will be historic in many ways: Record number of missing ballots in swaying state amid health crisis Governor Gretchen Whitmer spoke to Rick Pluta of Michigan Public Radio, about managing an election cycle where passions are hot and anger is short

Rick Pluta: What steps are you prepared to take using the powers you have to ensure security at polling stations – including tackling the presence of firearms?

Governor Gretchen Whitmer: « Well one of the things we do know is we’ve always had laws in the books that prohibit trying to bully other voters No one wants to mess around We want to make sure people can go to the polls and vote without any kind of intimidation and we take this very seriously. So I am working closely with the Secretary of State (Jocelyn Benson) and our Attorney General (Dana Nessel), working closely with local law enforcement and election officials to make sure we are able again to hold secure elections with which we all have confidence in the will of the people who act and the result reflects the actual votes cast « 

Pluta: Same question regarding the use of the powers at your disposal to ensure security, order and confidence between the closing of the polling stations and the moment when the results become clear

Whitmer: « I have said it many times and I will say it many times, I’m sure, by the time we have a vote that has been counted: it is really important that people recognize that this is a historic election We’re going to have a result that shows that more people voted in this election than we’ve ever seen before And so many people took advantage of this new ability to vote in full security from home We amended our constitution in ’18 so that’s a new ability that we have because of that It will just take longer for everything to count So we want people to know that the secretary of State says we will have a count, probably by Friday We hope it will be sooner than that, and I think it’s very possible But we will communicate very regularly and be very transparent about where we are in the process so that voters can be sure that we have an accurate count Speed ​​is excellent, but accuracy is paramount « 

Pluta: Now, between that moment between the closing of the polling stations and knowing the results, what can you do during this period in terms of using law enforcement and other resources to ensure the security and trust?

Whitmer: « We are working closely with local authorities, city officials, local law enforcement officials We call on Americans around the world, the Michiganders in particular, to get their vote, to vote it , then go home We know we’re still in the middle of a global pandemic So vote, and you can go home and hope we have some returns to watch out for on Tuesday It might only be Wednesday or Thursday, and we’ll do all we can to work with our locals to keep people safe in the meantime « 

Pluta: How will you know when to act and what to do in the event of election-related civil unrest?

Whitmer: “I think one of the things about 2020 is that it has been – there is a benefit to some of the things that have happened this year is that we are working very closely working with our local leaders Michigan has shown that we can navigate difficult conversations and difficult times by working together We will continue to do so I am grateful for the leadership of our Attorney General, who works closely with the forces of the local order, our secretary of state, who works very closely with our local clerks, and will act quickly and share real-time information on the over the next few days, as we have been over the past few days. last months « 

Pluta: Have you contacted the Republican leadership to issue some kind of joint statement calling for a peaceful process?

Whitmer: « You know, Rick, I think that’s a great idea. There are a number of Republican leaders who have echoed this and I think it’s important, and I think you have it. will see more « 

Democratic Sen Gary Peters and Republican challenger John James present their latest cases to the electorate in the final days of a more than $ 100 million duel that will help determine whether the winner of the presidential race can enact his legislative program

More than 26 million Michigan voters returned their mail-in ballots, and the state is still awaiting nearly 700,000 mail-in ballots that had been sent out and have yet to be returned to a few. Tuesday election days

It was after midnight when Donald Trump took to the stage in Grand Rapids, Michigan for his last 2016 presidential campaign rally.A late-night event slated for the last day of the campaign had crept up to in the wee hours of polling day

« Michigan is at the crossroads of history, » Trump told supporters inside a downtown convention center « If we win Michigan, we’ll win this historic election »

Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan, United States Governor Donald Trump