Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced an investigation into an alleged illegal attempt to sell a voting machine in Michigan on Thursday.

While Benson didn't specify where in the state the alleged incident occurred, in a tweet sent earlier, Benson said that the voter assist terminal was "acquired" in Wexford County. She linked to a Cadillac News article detailing that a piece of voting equipment that went missing later popped up online for sale.

"We are actively working with law enforcement to investigate allegations of an illegal attempt to sell a voter assist terminal acquired in Michigan," Benson said in a statement Thursday. "While our elections remain secure and safe, we take seriously all violations of election law and will be working with relevant authorities to ensure there are consequences for those who break the law."

Voter assist terminals don't tabulate ballots, but voters with disabilities often use them to mark their ballots, according to the Secretary of State's Office.

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In a news release Thursday, Wexford County Clerk Alaina Nyman confirmed the existence of an ongoing investigation there.

"The County is working diligently with the Michigan State Police to ensure this matter is handled accordingly," Nyman said in a statement without defining the specific matter at hand. "Please know that election security in Wexford County has been, and will continue to be, my top priority as the County Clerk," she added.

The county clerk's office to declined to provide further comment.

Lt. Derrick Carroll, a Michigan State Police public information officer for the Seventh District that covers Wexford County, said that detectives were doing interviews Thursday as part of the investigation into the missing voter assist terminal, and couldn't confirm whether a voting machine reportedly sold on eBay is the same as the one at the center of the investigation.

He said he had few details to share about the investigation, which he said was recently launched and ongoing.

Wexford County uses election equipment manufactured by Dominion, according to the Secretary of State's Office. A spokesperson for Dominion declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

Dominion found itself at the heart of election conspiracies in the wake of the 2020 presidential election after a human error in Antrim County resulted in inaccurate election night results. The error was caught and corrected before the results were certified.

GOP attorney general candidate Matt DePerno led a legal effort that fanned the flames of the Antrim voting machine conspiracy. Attorney General Dana Nessel recently referred an investigation involving DePerno's alleged involvement in a plot to gain unauthorized access to voting machines to the Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council to request the appointment of a special prosecutor.

Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.