National, State GOP Leaders Seek Delay In Certification Of Michigan’s Election Results

Echoing President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in Michigan, the Republican National Committee and the Michigan Republican Party are attempting to stall the certification of the state’s election results.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Laura Cox asked Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers in a letter on Saturday to delay certification of the state’s election results for two weeks to “allow for a full audit and investigation” into alleged voting “anomalies and irregularities.”

McDaniel and Cox specifically called for an audit of the results in Wayne County, which includes Detroit and is home to a significant number of Black voters and Democrats. Wayne County voted overwhelmingly for President-elect Joe Biden. 

There is zero evidence of significant voter fraud in Wayne County ― or anywhere else in Michigan (or the U.S. as a whole, for that matter). In their letter, McDaniel and Cox provided no proof for their allegations.

Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers — a four-member board responsible for certifying the state’s vote ― is required under state law to finalize the certification of the results by Monday, Nov. 23. Two Democrats and two Republicans sit on the board.

But Trump and his allies have been working hard to prevent this from happening, even filing a federal lawsuit in an attempt to halt the certification of Michigan’s vote. 

That lawsuit was dropped on Thursday, but Trump has not given up his efforts to undermine the state’s election results. He invited GOP state legislators from Michigan to the White House on Friday, which, as The New York Times noted, marked an unusual encroachment by a president into state politics.

In a similarly intrusive move, Trump reportedly called Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, the two Republican members of Wayne County’s canvassing board, on Tuesday. 

Palmer and Hartmann had earlier provoked controversy after they refused to certify the county’s election results. But the pair eventually agreed to certify them in the face of fierce backlash. 

A day after Trump’s call, however, Palmer and Hartmann signed affidavits saying they wanted to rescind their certification votes.

Michigan’s Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) has said, however, that there is “no legal mechanism” for Palmer and Hartmann to rescind their votes.

Biden was named the winner of the presidential election two weeks ago. He won 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232 electoral votes, according to AP. 

In Michigan, Biden currently leads Trump by over 155,000 votes. 

Trump has not only refused to concede but has repeatedly declared himself the victor of the presidential election.

“I won, by the way,” he said again on Friday.