“We don’t want to have a dictatorship.” Aghogho Edevbie on why he’s running to be Michigan’s Secretary of State

Democracy News spoke with Aghogho about threats to our elections and why he’s running for office despite the risk to election officials.

Aghogho Edevbie was born and raised in Detroit. He became an elections protection lawyer while studying law at the University of Michigan, inspired by what his parents, Nigerian immigrants, taught him about the importance of democracy. Aghogho went on to lead the Michigan chapter of All Voting is Local, and he’s currently Michigan’s Deputy Secretary of State, where he supports election administration.

Aghogho is running in the 2026 race to be Michigan’s Secretary of State. I spoke with Aghogho about threats to our elections and why he’s running for office despite the risk to election officials.

Meaghan: What are some of the ways you see big money in politics affecting people in Michigan?

Aghogho: If you look at our legislature, you often see the influence of big money slowing down if not outright stopping the ability to get things done. In 2025 in our country, some people shouldn’t have more power than others.

M: Are you taking corporate PAC money?

A: No. One, I just didn't view it as a necessity for our campaign. And two, and more importantly, I also thought not taking corporate PAC money was a great signal to send about who I'm going to be accountable to, and ultimately, I’m going to be accountable to the people of Michigan and not any corporation.

M: Secretary of State is not a position that most people are very familiar with or spend a ton of time thinking about. Can you talk about your decision to run for that office?

A: Free and fair elections are something that we have to fight for. And the secretary of state offices, not only Michigan but in states all across the country, are central to that fight.

We don’t want to have a dictatorship, and the Secretary of State is central to that because in the last hundred years, only three Democrats have been able to win the presidency without Michigan. So having a Michigan Secretary of State who is going to ensure that we have a strong electoral system — so people know how to cast their vote, but also so we protect the ability to certify elections — is really critical.

It’s also really important that we have somebody who's going to advocate for transparency in government. The Michigan Secretary of State has a lot of influence over campaign finance disclosure and lobbyist disclosure.

Sometimes people ask me: What am I most concerned about? It's the confidence of the electorate in our electoral system. Why was Trump able to get away with saying all these things about 2020? Because our election system is sometimes so complex and so mysterious to the average voter that bad actors take advantage of the mystery. And so, it's on election administrators like myself to educate the public and ensure that we have a system that is transparent. People are looking for their government to be transparent and responsive to them.

M: What would your priorities be as Secretary of State?

It’s critical that we have an electoral system in Michigan that is well administered. And that means having three different methods of voting: election day, early voting, and absentee. We need to make sure that those three methods of voting work seamlessly together, that we get rid of administrative overhead, and that people understand how to use those tools to cast their ballots. That’s the most important thing.

We also have to have processes in place that are going to defend accurate election results.

In 2020, when I was directing Michigan’s All Voting is Local, I visited the central counting site for absentee absentee ballots in Detroit the day before the election and saw that the Republicans and the conservatives were gearing up to potentially disrupt the process with all the poll challengers they had there. I worked really hard that night to recruit and train poll challengers who were going to document the facts. Fast forward, when it came time for the Wayne County Board of Canvassers to certify the election in Detroit, those affidavits that were collected became critical in making sure that the election was certified.

It dawned on me just how critical it is to have processes in place to ensure that the truth gets out. So, I want to be a Secretary of State who's going to ensure that those processes remain above board and are going to protect people's voices.

M: With so many terrible things happening, how are you coping?

A: Well, I'll take you back to Election Night last year. We have offices in Detroit for the Secretary of the State's office, and that's where a lot of the senior team gathered. And it became obvious that Trump was going to win. Slowly, most of the senior team left, and I was just sitting there thinking about the decision I had to make about running for Secretary of State. The idea of having to run while Trump was in office was, well, not the most fun one, because we know what Trump is capable of. I think for me, I just felt like I had a duty to stand up on behalf of Michiganders all across our state and fight to ensure that they continue to have a voice through their elections. But that's not always easy. You know, election administrators face threats. Even for our staff, the job has become a lot more intense, and that's unfortunate.

But you know, I think I'm grounded in my optimism that America being a country that ultimately stands for equality is still in the fabric and DNA of this nation, and I'm going to do my part to ensure that we get through this. It’s hard some days, I mean, some days I don't get a lot of sleep. But I'm just really motivated by the promise of this country and this state.