US: Michigan official warns violence and disruptions as the biggest threats in midterm elections

The United States is gearing up for the midterm elections that will take place in November, determining which ruling party will control one or both chambers of Congress on federal and state levels. Michigan’s Secretary of State has warned that violence and political disruptions pose threats to the upcoming races.

Speaking on CBS “Face the Nation” Sunday, Michigan’s Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said that potential violence and interference pose threats to the upcoming midterm elections.

Benson added that election officials from both parties are coordinating with law enforcement to protect the November 8 elections to make it clear that those who attempt to interfere will be held accountable.

“We are, in many ways, even more prepared this year than ever before,” said Benson, who added that state authorities are probing how a piece of the state’s voting machinery surfaced on eBay. Benson said the piece may have been discarded by accident.

Michigan is considered a swing state and in recent years has been the focus of high-profile election-related criminal cases.

One such incident was in the leadup to the 2020 elections, when alleged right-wing militia members plotted to kidnap the state’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Two of the 13 suspects were convicted back in August.

The state’s Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel also launched a statewide probe this year into the alleged illegal breaches of voting machines. The probe followed suspected breaches of voting machines by Republican officials and activists trying to prove the former president’s baseless claims of election fraud.

The upcoming midterm races in November will determine whether the Democratic Party maintains its majority in both the House and the Senate or whether the Republican Party may retake control.

During his Labor Day address in Pennsylvania, President Joe Biden ripped into Republicans who are staunch loyalists of his predecessor Donald Trump.

“We have a choice,” said Biden in his remarks urging union workers to vote for Democratic candidates. “Trump and the MAGA Republicans made their choice. We can work to have a better America or we can continue down this sliding path to oblivion where we don’t want to go.”

In separate remarks in Wisconsin, Biden made clear that he wasn’t attacking all Republicans but those who defended the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.