Anti-voting activists and a GOP election official in Michigan claim to have found noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls. But experts say the allegations are a long way from being verified. The goal, of course, is to tarnish Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) and sow discord ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Wednesday, January 21

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Anti-voting activists and a GOP election official in Michigan claim to have found noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls. But experts say the allegations are a long way from being verified. The goal, of course, is to tarnish Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) and sow discord ahead of the 2026 midterms. Also in this week’s Eye On The Right: Tina Peters’ advocates claim she was assaulted in prison — but the video appears to tell a different story, anti-voting activist Scott Presler considers a run for office, and more.

As always, thanks for reading.

Matt Cohen, Senior Reporter



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Republican official, anti-voting activists spread misinformation about Michigan’s voter rolls

- In recent weeks, anti-voting activists and a GOP election official in Michigan have claimed ([link removed] ) to have found noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls, and have blamed Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D). But experts say the allegations are a long way from being verified. The goal, of course, is to tarnish Benson and sow discord ahead of the 2026 midterms.

- The claim originated from Anthony Forlini, Macomb County Clerk and a Republican candidate for secretary of state, who said he pulled the names of alleged noncitizens picked for possible jury duty — and insinuated they might also be illegally registered to vote.

- David Becker, a voting rights advocate and former DOJ Civil Rights Division attorney, said that it’s “much more likely that these people are committing fraud on the courts with regard to sitting as jurors, than fraud on elections.” He added that for Forlini “to release this information without actually trying to see whether or not the jury lists are inaccurate, or the voter lists are inaccurate, is pretty irresponsible — and obviously for political purposes.”

- “It’s not clear that the Macomb County Clerk looked at the data he’s citing with any level of rigor, and that’s what we are working with him to uncover and figure out,” Benson told me.

Advocates for Tina Peters say she was assaulted in prison. The video appears to tell a different story

- Advocates for Tina Peters, the former Colorado GOP county clerk and election denier who’s serving a nine-year prison sentence for her role in a 2021 voting system breach, said she was assaulted by another inmate Sunday night. But surveillance video of the incident released by the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) appears to tell a different story.

- “Tina was inside a maintenance closet to fill up a water unit when an inmate approached her in the closet and began striking her in anger,” her advocates said ([link removed] ) in a press release. Peters “raised her hands and pushed the inmate away,” and was subsequently “handcuffed, shackled, and brought to solitary” — and told that she’s being charged with felony assault, they added.

- But CDOC countered that narrative and released ([link removed] ) video of the incident, which appears to show Peters grabbing the inmate around the neck and pushing her. CDOC further clarified in a statement that no one was injured in the altercation, Peters was not charged with anything, nor was she moved to solitary confinement — which the prison does not have — but rather to a different housing unit, as is procedure following an altercation between inmates.

Benny Johnson pushes bogus California voter fraud claims

- Benny Johnson, the conservative influencer who was previously duped ([link removed] ) into spreading Kremlin propaganda in a massive social media scheme, is in California cooking up some new anti-voting conspiracy theories to spread ahead of the midterms.

- In a recent video ([link removed] ) , Johnson is at an empty parking lot where he claims that 26 people are registered to vote. He calls this evidence of “straight-up voter fraud out in the open.”

- But state voter rolls are constantly evolving, and it’s not at all clear that Johnson is using the data from an up-to-date voter roll. Voters move, addresses change, and — the most likely explanation for Johnson’s video — residential buildings are torn down all the time. Basically, this is the worst kind of rage bait.

Anti-voting activist Scott Presler considering run for Congress

- Seemingly fed up with the Senate’s refusal to bring the monster voter suppression legislation the SAVE Act for a floor vote, influential anti-voting activist Scott Presler playfully suggested ([link removed] ) that he might run for office.

- “The lack of intestinal fortitude on the part of some elected Republicans is really making me consider whether or not to run for office,” Presler recently posted ([link removed] ) .

- Presler thrives off social media engagement — and has built his career jumping from state to state to raise awareness for voter suppression measures like the SAVE Act. Presler likely wouldn’t joke about running for office if it wasn’t something he was at least somewhat considering.

- And based on some of the positive reactions to his post — including encouragement ([link removed] ) from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) — it could happen. And he’d most certainly make voter suppression a cornerstone of his campaign.

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