The District’s Wayne County Survey Council initially reached a 2-2 stalemate on the issue of certification of results, with two Democrats voting for and two Republicans voting against, expressing concern about examples where Detroit polling stations found discrepancies in the post-election monitoring process. The vote was immediately condemned by democratic officials and impartial experts, who said the elections in Detroit had been clean.
President-elect Joe Biden won Michigan by more than 148,000 votes – a victory made possible by a strong performance in Wayne County, where he won more than 322,000 votes for President Donald Trump.
The first vote against the certification attracted the attention of the chairman, who posted a series of tweets in which he praised the courage of the PLO members in the campaign committee. He also spread false statements about mass voter fraud and said that state officials should return Michigan to TRUMP.
Trump has made extensive attempts to challenge the election results through litigation and the electoral college – and one of Trump’s campaign advisors said the initial denial of the results was intended to open the door of the Republican State Legislature (sic) to voter selection. Michigan GOP lawmakers have repeatedly stated that they would respect the state of Michigan’s referendum and would not interfere with the process.
When announcing its decision to approve the results, the Council also asked the Secretary of State for Michigan, Jocelyn Benson, to carry out a full audit of the areas of Detroit where post-election inspections had revealed anomalies. In an interview with CNN correspondent Chris Cuomo in Cuomo Prime Time, Benson said she would conduct the audit and would welcome the District Council’s decision to cancel the audit and confirm the results.
It seems that the truth has prevailed in this scenario, she said. For the most part, the evidence was convincing: There were no offences, no signs of widespread fraud and in fact there were only minor typing errors. … I think they’ve done the right thing, they’ve done their duty, they’ve done the right thing, and they’ve confirmed the election of Wayne’s County voters.
Decisive turning point
Even after the initial deadlock in the party line, experts were skeptical that Wayne County’s results would eventually be excluded from the statewide count. That would jeopardize Biden’s victory in Michigan – but CNN predicts he’ll win 306 votes in the election, which means he’ll still be the next president, even in the unlikely event that he doesn’t get 16 votes in the Michigan election.
At a meeting of the Wayne County Canvas Board, Vice President Jonathan Kinlock called the stalled situation ruthless and irresponsible. Kynlock is one of the two Democrats on that committee.
This organization has been proud for years that it cannot make politicians appear in our actions, Mr. Kinlock said. There is no reason in the sun not to confirm this choice. I think there was a politician present today and I think this Council must accept forever that we have allowed external and irrelevant issues to influence this decision today, hoping that it will change and lead to a result that will not exist.
Republican Council president Monica Palmer explained why she had previously voted against certification.
From what I’ve seen and passed on in the research books on this screen, I don’t think we have complete and accurate information in those research books, Palmer said.
At one point, Palmer proposed to the committee to confirm the rest of the district’s findings, with the exception of Detroit, which the committee did not follow.
I will be open to applications for certification for communities other than Detroit, Palmer said, referring to other parts of Wayne County.
In a written statement issued after the initial impasse, Benson stated that some locations often differ slightly from their research booklets. But she also said: It is important to note that this does not mean that the votes have not been cast or counted correctly.
Electoral experts and insiders in Michigan were shocked at the first vote.
People talk: Joe Biden won more than 140,000 votes in Michigan, said Democratic Congressman Gretchen Whitmer. Today’s action is a blatant attempt to undermine the will of the voters. However, the process will continue. In accordance with Michigan law, the Kanvasser State Council will now complete the work, and I hope he will confirm the results when the work is completed.
Nancy Kaffer, a columnist for the Detroit Free Press, tweeted: This is something that hasn’t been seen in the twenty years I’ve been reporting on the work of the government. Amy Walter de Cook’s impartial political report on Twitter stated that there was no evidence of fraud, here or elsewhere, and that Republican efforts to block certification are causing real and lasting damage to our institutions.
In September, the Michigan State Senate, headed by the GOP, voted for a resolution confirming that state voters must commit to vote for a presidential candidate, as confirmed by Michigan election officials, said Amber McCann, deputy chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, CNN.
This is a divorce story that will be updated.
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