Dead voters, lost ballots, drop boxes: Jocelyn Benson answers your questions on The Pulse

FOX 2 (WJBK) - As the political circus of narratives, anxiety and drama ramp up for November's presidential race, election security is top of mind for many.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson came to FOX 2 to discuss the transparency of the process and the security she says in place.

"We're happy to answer questions about our audit process, about our paper ballots, all the protections we have in place to ensure only US citizens are voting," she said. "It's a delineation between facts, settling an issue and dismissing facts or or saying you have evidence of widespread fraud when there is no evidence, when there's evidence of wrongdoing, we want to address it. When the facts show otherwise, we need to accept it."

Benson answered some questions from viewers of The Pulse as well.

Are dead voters on the rolls?

Viewer Question: "In the state of Michigan, 53 counties have more registered voters than have people living over the age of 18. How come the Secretary of State hasn't done more to remove people from the voter rolls who are either dead or have moved or otherwise are ineligible to vote?"

Benson: "We've actually done more since I took office to improve the accuracy of our voter rolls, to remove people who have moved or otherwise ineligible, who are deceased, and ensure our voter rolls are accurate. We've done more in just a few years than in the past 20 years alone. 

"That includes mailing citizens and giving them information about our elections, and if something bounced back, that's evidence that someone might have moved, and we can use that evidence to put them on an inactive list that sets them up to be removed from the voter rolls. Similarly, we joined an interstate collaborative that enables us to get access to federal data, and for when people move or if people pass away, we get that right away, every two weeks."

Census data also plays a role as well, she said - adding that some of the voter file information is outdated.

"There's a lot of questions about census data, and are there counties that have more people and more registered people that are actually in it? And a lot of those allegations are based on just false data sets, and comparing apples to oranges, looking at census data which has its own set of inaccuracies, and comparing it to old, outdated voter registration files that have since been updated or with individuals who have been since labeled inactive voters."

Lost ballots - what happens?

Viewer Q: "What percentage of mail-in ballots get lost? How are we combating that and finding them or counting them? Do they just not matter? Or what are we doing to prevent that?"

The Secretary of State said that as long as the ballot comes in by 8 p.m. on Election Day, it will count.

Benson: "New this year is a tracking mechanism, and Michigan.gov/vote where people can enter their information and confirm whether their ballots have been mailed to them and whether it's been received back. So that also empowers the citizens to check, to make sure they have confidence when it is received or contact the clerk if it's not - and get a new ballot so they can make sure their vote counts.

Is there drop box security?

Viewer Q: "What are the protocols, universal protocols, being put in place for drop boxes, especially in terms of surveillance and monitoring?"

Benson: "In Michigan, there is one drop box for every 15,000 voters. It is required under the state constitution. Every single one of those drop boxes is monitored. They are checking, and they also have video security footage constantly surveying them to make sure everything that happens around them is surveyed and recorded and that any interactions with the drop box are protected."

She added that every clerk has a responsibility to make sure the drop boxes are checked daily, making sure there is surveillance both "the human way" and with video footage.

Can illegal immigrants vote?

Election skeptics have raised concerns over illegal immigrants being able to cast votes, with some asking how officials can prove they are not already voting in state and federal elections.

Benson said she is fielding more of those questions, adding that the concern is unfounded.

"There is a lot of noise around the reality, that only US citizens can vote in our elections, and we both check to make sure only eligible US citizens are registering with citizen documents that are oftentimes required to resist when someone's getting their driver's license and thereby getting registered to vote as well. And then after the fact, citizenship has to be reaffirmed by this." 

Watch the Pulse every night 11:30 p.m. on FOX 2 or on our Live page HERE. If you want a sneak preview of what that night's topic will be, we'll be airing a special Behind The Pulse segment online only at 7:30 p.m. HERE.