President Donald Trump is working overtime to shed doubt on the election results with a barrage of tweets accusing Michigan and other battleground states of allowing voter fraud.
This has placed Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in the position of defending her state's vote-counting process, which she insists has been transparent.
"What this is really about is more of a political strategy or partisan effort to sow seeds of doubt amongst our voters about the integrity of our election's process," she told Cheddar. "But the bottom line is we've got 1,500 clerks all throughout the state, at the city, and township level who worked tirelessly for months to ensure every strict protocol that we've got in place under the law here in Michigan was met."
While the Trump campaign is demanding access to vote-counting sites in the state, poll watchers from both parties are already present. Shortly after Cheddar spoke with Benson, a Democrat, on Thursday afternoon a Michigan judge denied a suit over the issue brought against her by the Trump campaign
Benson noted that despite record turnout the state was able to tabulate results in less than 48 hours and that the process has been "methodical" and "secure."
"We saw record numbers of people voting in this election, record numbers of people voting absentee, and through that process, our clerks rose and met every challenge," she said.
The state's top election official sees the rhetoric coming from Trump as one of the biggest threats to the security of the voting process, but not one that took her by surprise.
"The bottom line is no one should be surprised that this is happening," Benson said. "Disappointed? Yes. Surprised? No."
The state has asked residents to submit any evidence of misinformation concerning the election to misinformation@michigan.gov.
Going forward, Benson expressed pride in the clerks who pulled off this election but would like to see greater support from the legislature
"In terms of regrets, I wish our state legislature had done more to partner with us and our local clerks to provide more resources and support as we entered this really momentous, historic election," she said.
Meta's request to have a Federal Trade Commission antitrust lawsuit dismissed was rejected by a federal judge. Prosecutors presented enough evidence in their latest filing to go forward with the case accusing the tech giant of operating a social networking monopoly through Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Covid cases have started to spike again across the nation, and this time they seem to be hitting some of our youngest and most vulnerable - school-aged children. School districts across the nation - including the country's largest public school system in New York City- are all grappling with what to do as teachers and students alike continue to miss school in droves.
Katie Honan, reporter for the New York City-based non profit news organization, The City explains how educational leaders across the country are handling covid demands from both teachers and parents alike.
Last week, the Supreme Court began here to hear arguments on two of the President's COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The vaccine or testing requirement for employees of large businesses, as well as the vaccine mandate for health care providers who get funding through either Medicare or Medicaid. The justices in DC will ultimately decide whether or not federal agencies even have the authority to issue these types of mandates. Editor at large of employment at Law 360, Vin Gurrieri, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals Richenda Sandlin-Tymitz, Marketing & Content Manager at Alaska Tour & Travel, breaks down when and how to plan your best trip to Alaska; Kristen Miller, Acting Executive Director, Alaska Wilderness League, discusses the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the oil drilling that threatens it; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'The Magic of the Wild.'
Kristen Miller, acting executive director, Alaska Wilderness League, discusses the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the oil drilling that threatens it.
The Department of Treasury is warning Americans to expect delays on their tax returns this year as the IRS manages staffing shortages due to the pandemic.
The United States and Russia remain distant following a meeting between high-level officials for the two countries in Geneva, Switzerland. The nations remain conflicted over Washington's concern of a potential invasion of Ukraine by Russia and Moscow dispute with NATO expanding into former Soviet states. Hagar Chemali, host of Oh My World on YouTube and former spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the U.N., joined Cheddar's "News Wrap" to give her take about the careful diplomatic negotiations underway. "I would expect more rounds," she said about the talks. "Both sides really remain adamant that we're not going to talk about Russia's proposal, and Russia doesn't want to talk about anything but its proposal. So once they start talking about the other items on the table, and there are a few other items, that's when negotiations can start."
