Primary Election Date: 08/01/2010
General Election Date: 11/02/2010

Who Am I?

Jocelyn Benson, the daughter of two special education teachers, was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After attending college at Wellesley and Oxford University, Jocelyn obtained her JD from Harvard Law School, where she met her husband, Ryan Fredrichs. Following graduation, Jocelyn and Ryan moved to Detroit Michigan, where she clerked for legendary civil rights Judge Damon Keith.

Currently, she is a law professor at Wayne State School of Law.

Jocelyn's career has been dedicated to election law and policy. In 2004, she served as the Democratic National Committee's Election Protection Field Director, which gave her organizing and campaign experience at the national level. She has worked to track the activities of white supremacist organizations under Morris Dees at the Southern Poverty Law Center, and testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee regarding the use of foreclosure lists to challenge eligible voters. Last year, Jocelyn founded the Richard Austin Center for Election Law to support election administration in Michigan.

In the next few months, Jocelyn will publish a book about the relationship between democracy and state Secretary of State offices. Jocelyn spoke to the country's best Secretaries of State from both political parties while researching the book, giving her a unique insight into the functioning of the office and ability of the Secretary to push for and implement voting reforms.

Why Am I Running?

Jocelyn has devoted her career to improving the democratic process, and would work to once again make the Michigan Secretary of States office a national leader in election administration. Under Jocelyn's leadership, common sense reforms – like early voting, no-reason absentee voting, and same-day voter registration – would make it easier to vote and harder to cheat.

In Michigan, the Secretary of States office is also responsible for the administration of the motor vehicle licensing. As Secretary of State, Jocelyn would work hard to reduce wait times and ensure that all employees are trained to properly and fairly implement the law.

Hold Me Accountable!

If elected, Jocelyn would push for common sense reforms to make it easier to vote, but harder to cheat.

For example, Michigan is currently one of few states that restricts the reasons you can vote by absentee ballot. Jocelyn would work with Republicans and Democrats to allow any eligible voter who cannot make it to the polls on election day to vote by absentee ballot.

Jocelyn would also work hard to make it easier for eligible Michiganders to register to vote. Extended registration dates (ideally allowing people to register to vote on election day) and registering to vote online would ensure that everyone who would like to vote is able to cast a ballot.

Because the Michigan Secretary of State's office is also responsible for licensing drivers and otherwise administering the department of motor vehicles, Jocelyn would work to make getting a license more efficient, and to ensure that each branch is trained to implement the law correctly and fairly.

My DFA values:

Unfortunately, in today's heated partisan climate, the fundamental right to vote has become too often mired in politics and partisanship. The presidential campaigns of 2000 and 2004 demonstrated the power the Secretary of State's office has to make small decisions that impact the outcome of elections. As a professor of election law, Jocelyn is committed to making sure that Michigan does not become the next Florida or Ohio – that every eligible voter not only casts a ballot, but that their vote is counted.

Michigan is in a deep financial crisis, and the common sense reforms that Jocelyn will implement will decrease spending. For example, making voter registration available online will reduce the amount of time and money spent on paper registrations. Further, currently Michigan drivers’ licenses must be renewed every year. By giving drivers the option to instead renew every two or five years, administrative costs – and valuable time - would be saved.

My Campaign is People-Powered!

As the former national field director for the DNC's Election Protection Campaign and an active voice in Democratic politics for the last 10 years, Jocelyn has the experience and passion to build a successful grassroots campaign. Last year Jocelyn successfully led a grassroots campaign to prevent the closure of a branch Secretary of State’s office in Buena Vista Township near Saginaw, Michigan, arguing that the closure would violate the Voting Rights Act.

Currently, she is traveling the state to meet with local unions, county Democratic parties, and voters across Michigan to build support and share her vision for the Secretary of State office. It is her goal to visit all 83 Michigan counties by the end of the year, and appoint County Coordinators in each county to act as a liaison between the citizens and the campaign – and, when she is elected, the Secretary of States Office.

She currently has coordinators in over half of Michigan's counties .