DETROIT – Democrat Jocelyn Benson defeated Republican Mary Treder Lang in the race for Michigan Secretary of State.
Both Lang and Benson both called for expanding the list of things that residents do online or at alternative locations, such as renewing license plates, and each supports no-reason absentee voting.
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Benson, 41, is the former Dean of Wayne State University Law School and CEO of RISE. She's also a board member of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
More: Michigan General Election Results for Secretary of State on Nov. 6, 2018
Benson was named one of Michigan's "Most Influential Women" in 2016 by Crain's Detroit. She previously ran for Michigan Secretary of State in 2010, but lost to Ruth Johnson.
Benson has proposed implementing online voter registration. She also aims make it easier for military and overseas voters to cast ballots.
Benson said her husband tried to vote in 2012 when he was serving in Afghanistan, only to have his ballot returned as undeliverable. She said online voter registration is a “basic modernization” step that other states have shown can be done securely.