MICHIGAN, USA — As election results began to pour in, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson held a press conference Tuesday night, where she highlighted the work that went into making the election successful and shared voting trends in Michigan.
Benson thanked election workers for ensuring the voting process went smoothly. She said some polling places needed to change their plans due to power outages following severe storms. Those storms even caused some precincts to briefly shelter in place.
Benson said that while some votes are still being counted, she estimates about 2 million Michiganders cast a vote in the election. Of those votes, about 1.2 million were absentee, something that Benson said is becoming more popular.
"It's very clear that given the opportunity to vote early or absentee, many Michiganders continue to embrace that opportunity and cast their ballots prior to today, Election Day," Benson said. "And it also underscores how Election Day is now essentially becoming the last day to vote, the last day to turn in your ballot, as opposed to the day that everyone votes."
She said once election results are finalized, officials will begin the election canvassing process.
"This is the process whereby, over the course of a couple weeks, they review all election processes and results to confirm accuracy and proper protocols were followed and correct any clerical mistakes," Benson said. "This work is overseen by bipartisan boards of county canvassers, who will also conduct any recounts and then certify the amended results after they have done so."
While this process is underway, Benson said some vote tallies may change slightly—which she said is not evidence of wrongdoing, but shows that Michigan's election system is "tremendously robust" with a series of checks and balances in place.
See a full list of election results as they come in here.