There were some MAJOR fireworks last night in Michigan after the Wayne County Board of Canvassers — ie, Detroit’s votes — briefly deadlocked 2-2 along party lines and refused to certify the results of the presidential election:
The Wayne County Board of Canvassers just deadlocked on certifying the vote on party lines. This is unprecedented in my 20 years covering government here.
— Nancy Kaffer (@nancykaffer) November 17, 2020
According to The Detroit News, the poll books were out of balance:
This is the 'evidence':
"The decision came after absentee ballot poll books at 70% of Detroit's 134 absentee counting boards were found to be out of balance without explanation. The mismatches varied anywhere from one to more than four votes. "https://t.co/Po29yHZGC9
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) November 18, 2020
And the chair of the Republican party in the state said, “The people of Michigan deserve to know what happened in Wayne County”:
Michigan Republican Chair Laura Cox praises blocking of certifying Wayne County election results: "The people of Michigan deserve to know what happened in Wayne County… This action will allow more time for us to get to the bottom of these deeply troubling irregularities."
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) November 17, 2020
President Trump responded that “The USA stands proud!” after their decision:
Wow! Michigan just refused to certify the election results! Having courage is a beautiful thing. The USA stands proud!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2020
And the campaign called it “a huge win for election integrity!!”:
Looking forward to talking with @ShannonBream tonight on Wayne County, Michigan’s refusal to certify FALSE election results.
This is a huge win for election integrity!! ??
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) November 18, 2020
But, alas . . . the board later voted unanimously to certify the results in exchange for an audit of what went wrong:
In a late night twist, the Wayne County Board of Canvassers unanimously agrees to certify the results, on the condition Secretary of State’s office conduct a comprehensive audit of the unexplained, out of balance precincts across the county
— Kayla Ruble (@RubleKB) November 18, 2020
There was much opposition to the earlier 2-2 vote, as you might imagine:
BREAKING TWIST: Attorney on the ground in MI tells me Wayne County Board of Canvassers has now unanimously agreed to CERTIFY the results and called on SoS to conduct an audit … He says – "Apparently a lot of threats and pressure and they caved in." More on @FoxNewsNight
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) November 18, 2020
And reporters were digging up dirt on Republican members of the board:
Did a cruise through Wayne County Canvassing Board member William Hartmann's public Facebook posts. He's a Republican, so not a surprise he is a BIG Trump supporter
I'll let you judge a sample of posts I pulled from 2010. He voted not to certify Wayne County's ballots. pic.twitter.com/vGZt8mGeCF
— Del Quentin Wilber (@DelWilber) November 18, 2020
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson was quick to dunk on the president after the flip-flop of the board:
Wrong again. ?? https://t.co/VPKC91o4hw
— Jocelyn Benson (@JocelynBenson) November 18, 2020
And the Trump campaign’s Jenna Ellis ripped the decision, saying “America doesn’t yield to the mob!”
In Wayne Co, MI, 71% of their precincts’ ballot counts don’t match total number of voters! 2 board members refused to certify results, then suddenly caved amid threats. America doesn’t yield to the mob!
President @realDonaldTrump is FIGHTING for TRUTH & to count all LEGAL votes! pic.twitter.com/3SeiSJrdHN
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) November 18, 2020
But even if the board didn’t change its decision, this was a moonshot. The next step would’ve been that the state would review the results and then would’ve most likely certified the election:
My statement on the actions taken during today’s meeting of the Board of Wayne County Canvassers. pic.twitter.com/Vb2TRpiLdJ
— Jocelyn Benson (@JocelynBenson) November 17, 2020
And the GOP legislature has previously said that they wouldn’t step in and award electors to President Trump anyway:
They’ve been going for it since before the election and they’re no closer to succeeding:
1. If the state board follows suit, it goes to the courts, not the Republican state legislature.
2. The GOP state legislature said today they’re not stepping in: https://t.co/DXg4HgIqGF https://t.co/f87qHMJAzE
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) November 18, 2020
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