Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) and tech billionaire Elon Musk got into a days-long back-and-forth on the social platform X about voter registration in the Wolverine State.
On Saturday, Musk responded to a post on the social platform X claiming that Michigan “STILL has 100,000 more registered voters than eligible citizens.”
“Michigan has more registered voters than eligible citizens!?” Musk said in his response.
Benson then responded to Musk on the same day, saying he was “spreading dangerous disinformation.”
“Here are the facts: There aren’t more voters than citizens in Michigan,” Benson said. “There are 7.2 million active registered voters and 7.9 citizens of voting age in our state. Musk is pushing a misleading number that includes 1.2 million inactive records slated for removal in accordance with the law.”
Firing back at Benson, Musk said Sunday she was “blatantly lying to the public” and that she “only” intends “to remove the ineligible voters AFTER this election.”
“That necessarily means that there are far more people registered to vote than there [are] eligible voters,” Musk added.
Benson responded again Sunday, saying “In Michigan we tell the truth and we follow the law.”
“I suggest you do the same,” she continued.
The back-and-forth stretched into Monday, with Musk then questioning Benson if she is “removing the ineligible voters before the election[.]”
“Thanks for asking!” Benson responded, along with a link to a Michigan government website on “[v]oter registration cancellation procedures[.]” “Here’s an explainer of all we do to ensure our voter registration database is accurate.”
Michigan is one of a handful of important swing states Vice President Harris or former President Trump will need to capture to secure the White House in next month’s upcoming election. Musk endorsed Trump in the wake of an assassination attempt against him in July.
“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk said in a post on X at the time.
The Hill has reached out to Musk’s company Tesla.
