Tonight feels like a good time to tell you all that, for me, the absolute lowest moment in the post election battle we endured to protect Michigan’s accurate and legitimate election results in 2020 was not when armed protestors stormed my home. It was the night of the Wayne…

— Jocelyn Benson (@JocelynBenson) December 22, 2023

We were prepared to go to court to successfully ensure certification at the local and state level - and we were confident we’d win in court. But blocking certification in Wayne County and pushing this to the courts would still delay and create enough doubt and uncertainty to enable the Trump campaign to push Pennsylvania, which was certifying the next week, to delay as well. And we knew other dominos would fall after that.

How could we overcome the pressure of the then-President of the United States on local and state officials? Were the facts and law not enough?

Well, then something I’ll never forget happened.

Hundreds - hundreds (!) - of citizens showed up to the meeting of the Wayne County Canvassing Board to remind them of their duty under the law to ensure their votes counted. Their voices mattered. Their votes mattered.

In my view that turned the tide. Citizens and election officials in Wayne County and statewide didn’t flinch, stood firm, and demanded their votes be certified as required under the law.

And in the end, the Wayne County Canvassing board fulfilled their legal duty, followed the law and certified the election.

There are times when even the good guys must show up in large numbers.