The latest attempt to block Michigan’s election certification process comes after President Donald Trump failed to persuade Republican members of the Michigan legislature to help bring the state to his side. After meeting with Trump at the White House on Friday, Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield said they were unaware of any new information that would change the outcome of the election in Michigan.
Biden won Michigan by nearly 150,000 votes if elected Democratic president. The state is one of a handful where the Trump campaign has filed legal challenges. It is scheduled to certify its results on Monday.
Republican state canvasser Norm Schinkle told the Detroit News on Friday that two Republican members of the Canvasser’s Wine County board are throwing back their support behind an audit or final certificate delay after they failed to withdraw a certificate of their county results. The audit will not be conducted before the state certification.
Schinkle said he could not make a decision before looking at the Michigan Bureau of Elections report on the certificates of 83 counties.
The Michigan State Board of Canvassers – two Democrats and two Republicans – has four members.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Bains said earlier this week that her agency would conduct post-election audits of Wayne County and some other local jurisdictions. According to the Detroit News, the state results cannot be audited before certification arrives, as election officials do not have the legal access to the required documents until then.
A group of Michigan voters filed a lawsuit in DC federal court on Friday alleging that challenges and pressure on election officials are trying to suppress mass voters through the Trump campaign.
