By MFE Contributor | September 4, 2024
On Aug. 16, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Michigan Republican Party (MIGOP) announced they had sent a letter to Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s Secretary of State, opposing a new taxpayer-funded hotline for Michiganders to report on their family, friends, and neighbors. The misinformation hotline, according to SOS Benson, is intended to help residents report anyone sharing “misleading or inaccurate information regarding voting or elections in Michigan.”
The Republicans disagreed, saying, “This, of course, is just the latest election interference scheme by Michigan Democrats, hiding behind the guise of fighting misinformation to intimidate voters and silence information they deem wrong.” The RNC and MIGOP media release stated they were “calling out this underhanded system and defending freedom of speech.”
From the letter:
“We expect your office to give political discourse, including opinions about and criticisms of your office, breathing room to fulfill the guarantees of freedom of speech and association under the First Amendment. Democracy functions best when voters are permitted to express their opinions and fully participate in the discussions about candidates, public officials, and public policy. We expect better.” --RNC and MIGOP Call Out Benson's Free Speech Suppression Hotline - Michigan Republican Party
Read the letter here [RNC_MIGOP_Letter_re_Reporting_Hotline_8.15.24_1723818721.pdf]
The RNC letter came after an August 8 announcement by Kerri (Houston) Toloczko, Executive Director of the Election Integrity Network. Toloczko wrote, “MI AG Dana Nessel sent a chilling and threatening letter to one of her state's citizens concerned about election security. Nessel threatened to prosecute (persecute) the citizen for posting information about MI polling locations but included no detail on what was ‘misinformation.’”
“MFE's Patrice Johnson did a magnificent job bringing Americans' attention to this revolting act of tyranny,” Toloczko stated, and she included a link to Johnson’s article in Real Clear Politics, “Who Gets to Decide What is Misinformation?”
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