โZero credibilityโ -- New report from Michigan GOP Senate members debunks claims of vote fraud
The investigation included 30 hours of public hearing, witness testimony from nearly 90 people, more than 400 pages of testimony and subpoenaed key documents from Secretary of State and municipal governments.
Michigan AG returns fire on Trump: โYouโre not our typeโ
President Donald Trump has once again taken aim at Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Twitter early Sunday morning -- and she was not having it. https://t.co/9OXZOujVtE โ Dana Nessel (@dananessel) December 27, 2020โA patriot is a person who vigorously defends their country against its enemies and detractors. Youโre not our type.โNessel followed up with another tweet Sunday, saying she doesnโt expect this behavior from President-elect Joe Biden come his inauguration in January. โWeโd be asking there be action taken against her law license including potentially disbarment.โIn one of the latest filings, the attorney for Wayne County, Robert Davis, called on the federal judge in Michiganโs Eastern District to sanction the lawyers for six Michigan Trump supporters who are suing Gov. With no credible legal options remaining and the Electoral College having confirmed Bidenโs victory earlier this month, Trump is turning his attention to Jan. 6.
Michiganโs audit of Antrim County votes reaffirms 2020 presidential election results
ANTRIM COUNTY, Mich. โ Michigan officials conducted a โrisk-limitingโ audit of presidential election ballots cast in Antrim County, where a clerical error inspired baseless conspiracies of voter fraud. Antrim County uses software from Dominion Voting Systems, which has a target for conspiracy theories about election fraud this year. Even though the stateโs election results have been certified for weeks, Michigan officials still chose to audit Antrim Countyโs votes on Dec. 17. As a result of the vote audit, Biden lost 1 vote and Trump gained 11 additional votes in Antrim County. โTodayโs full audit in Antrim County confirmed the truth and affirmed the facts: Dominionโs voting machines accurately tabulated the votes cast for president in Antrim County,โ Benson said on Dec. 17.
Michigan AG on lawsuit seeking to overturn election: โThis is how democracies dieโ
Related: AG Barr: No evidence of voter fraud thatโd change election outcomeโThis is how democracies die,โ Nessel said Friday. โBy virtue of these types of actions, which are unprecedented in American history.โLegal experts donโt believe the high court will hear the case. Despite that, four Michigan GOP congressmen have signed onto the case and 15 GOP state lawmakers. Nessel and the Attorney Generals of the other states have all filed briefs with the high court. Each member who signed their names on their respective briefs also won their own elections in 2020, which they are now asking to be invalidated.
Michiganโs top court rejects appeal by Trump campaign
LANSING, Mich. โ President Donald Trump's campaign was handed a unanimous defeat Friday at the Michigan Supreme Court, which declined to hear an appeal about how absentee ballots were handled in Detroit as well as other issues. The court steered it aside with a three-sentence order, the latest in a string of unsuccessful cases challenging how the Nov. 3 election was handled. Joe Bidenโs 154,000-vote victory in Michigan was certified by the Board of State Canvassers on Nov. 23. The president's campaign claimed the Republican Party wasn't allowed to get an appropriate number of observers inside a Detroit convention center where absentee ballots were counted. A judge and the Michigan appeals court ruled against Trump.
Rep. removed from Michigan House Oversight Committee amid investigation
LANSING, Mich. โ Michigan Rep. Cynthia Johnson is under investigation after she posted on social media a response to the many violent, vulgar and racist death threats sheโs received. The video, posted Tuesday night, has quickly gone viral and legislative leadership removed her from her House Oversight Committee assignments Wednesday. โMy soldiers, they are soldiers for Christ, soldiers against racism, soldiers against domestic violence, soldiers against domestic terrorism,โ Johnson said. Rep. Johnson has been removed from her committee assignments, and we are looking into further disciplinary action as the proper authorities conduct their own investigations. Whitmer, Secretary Benson, Rep. Johnson herself, and others.
Federal judge rejects lawsuit seeking to decertify Michiganโs 2020 election results
A federal judge in Michigan has denied a lawsuit seeking to decertify the stateโs Nov. 3, 2020 General Election results based on claims of widespread fraud in the distribution, collection, and counting of ballots. The election results were certified in Michigan on Nov. 23. Read the full opinion here:Michiganโs Board of State Canvassers voted Nov. 23 certify the Nov. 3, 2020 General Election results. The vote to certify Michiganโs election results officially awards the stateโs 16 electoral votes to Joe Biden in the presidential election. Board member Norman D. Shinkle (R) abstained from voting after questioning the balance of votes in certain precincts, specifically in Detroit.
Michigan House Oversight Committee members receive death threats, racist voicemails
LANSING, Mich. โ Michigan Rep. Cynthia Johnson, the Democratic chair of the House Oversight Committee is receiving death threats due to the election. She posted several of the threats to social media. After both Democratic and Republican representatives have received threats of violence over the election, Michigan Assistant Minority Floor Leader Laurie Pohutsky posted on Twitter about the SNL sketch. The SNL skit was amusing, I guess, but last night my caucus was trying to figure out how to keep those on that committee safe from the deluge of death threats theyโre receiving. Iโm sorry to be a bummer and Iโm glad people enjoyed the skit, but the reality of it is heinous.
Michigan SOS Jocelyn Benson says armed protesters gathered outside her Detroit home
But the threats of those gathered werenโt actually aimed at me โ or any other elected officials in this state. Their goal is to overturn and upend the results of an election that are clear and unequivocal, and that 5.5 million Michigan citizens participated in. And that job is simple: to defend and protect every Michigan voter, their choice, and their votes. I have spent my career defending and protecting the right to vote of every eligible citizen. I will continue as Michiganโs Secretary of State, proudly protecting and defending every voter and every vote.
Rudy Giuliani pushes Michigan election fraud claims in Lansing
LANSING, Mich. โ While supporters of President Donald Trump stood outside the Michigan House office building, Trumpโs attorney Rudy Giuliani testified before Michigan House on Wednesday, claiming massive voter fraud in Detroit. Giuliani brought with him witnesses, who signed affidavits that have already been presented in court in Trump campaign lawsuits and have been dismissed or pulled by the campaign. READ: Giuliani to Republicans: Pressure Legislature on Biden winThe Michigan Senate held a similar hearing on Tuesday. Michigan House Republications made it clear that Wednesdayโs hearing was not about overturning election results in Michigan, but about listening to people who claimed they saw irregularities at the TCF Center in Detroit. Disputing President Donald Trumpโs persistent, baseless claims, Attorney General William Barr declared Tuesday the U.S. Justice Department has uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election.
Giuliani to Michigan Republicans: Pressure Legislature on Biden win
Giuliani said the U.S. Constitution empowers legislatures to appoint electors directly, even though the Legislature long ago passed a law allotting them to the popular vote winner. Biden won the state by 2.8 percentage points. โThey're the ones who should have the courage to step up,โ Giuliani said of lawmakers during a virtual event hosted by the Michigan Republican Party. Giuliani made wild claims of โmassive cheating,โ particularly by Detroit Democrats, that he said resulted in 500,000 to 700,000 โillegalโ votes. Biden won 240,936 votes to Trump's 12,889.
Few Michigan absentee ballots rejected amid record voter turnout in 2020 election
See the full list of reasons for rejected Michigan ballots in the table below. In the August primary election, about 10,600 of 1.6 million absentee ballots (less than 1 percent) were rejected in Michigan. The stateโs previous record was 2.5 million votes cast in the Aug. 2020 primary election, which also beat a record of 2.2 million votes cast in the Aug. 2018 primary. The 3.3 million Michigan absent voter ballots cast this November beat the stateโs previous record of 1.6 million votes cast in the Aug. 2020 primary election. Before then, the highest number of absent voter ballots cast in Michigan was 1.3 million in the 2016 presidential election.
Rudy Giuliani to testify on allegations of voter fraud before Michigan Legislature
LANSING, Mich. โ President Donald Trumpโs personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, will appear before the Michigan House Oversight Committee Wednesday evening. He will discuss the allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 General Election. As of Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020, no judge has seen any evidence on which to rule. The Michigan Legislature has two committees listening to claims about election irregularities. A Michigan Senate hearing, where those who identified themselves as GOD poll watchers made claims about the vote-counting process at the TCF Center, lasted seven hours.
One pandemic, two different worlds in Georgia runoff races
A day earlier, Vice President Mike Pence campaigned with Warnockโs opponent, Sen. Kelly Loeffler, and her fellow Republican senator, David Perdue. For Republicans, the pandemic is secondary in a runoff blitz defined by dire warnings about what it would mean if Warnock defeats Loeffler and Perdue falls to Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff. But Perdue led Ossoff by about 100,000 votes, finishing just short of the outright majority Georgia requires to avoid a runoff. Loeffler acknowledges the pandemic in her standard speech by highlighting her and Perdueโs votes for the spring economic relief package. Ossoff also has sought to tie Perdueโs loyalty to Trump back to the pandemic.
Bidenโs win hides a dire warning for Democrats in rural US
DES MOINES, Iowa โ Democrats once dominated Koochiching County in the blue-collar Iron Range of northern Minnesota. But in this month's presidential election, President Donald Trump won it with 60% of the vote. Though Democratsโ rural woes arenโt new, they now heap pressure on Biden to begin reversing the trend. In clinging to their majority, House Democrats lost rural seats, notably the one held for 30 years by Rep. Collin Peterson in western Minnesota. For now, Democrats' future in rural America rests largely on how Biden is viewed there, Heitkamp said.
The must-read deep dive into Michiganโs 2020 election, erroneous voter fraud claims
Itโs worth taking a moment to read Politicoโs latest deep dive into the state of Michiganโs Nov. 3, 2020 General Election controversy. In the end, one Republican lawyerโs decision to simply stick to the law as it is written cemented Michiganโs election outcome, upholding more than five million votes in a record-breaking year for the stateโs voter turnout. A lot of the unproven claims about voter fraud came directly from the Michigan Republican Party and President Donald Trump himself. Like clockwork, one can always depend on controversiesโsometimes mini-scandalsโto spring up by noontime on any given Election Day. Much of this owed to months of tireless preparation by election officials at the state and local level.
John James concedes to Gary Peters in Michigan Senate race, offers congratulations in video
DETROIT โ In a video posted on Twitter, Republican John James concedes to Democrat and incumbent Sen. Gary Peters in the U.S. Senate race. The James and Peters campaigns spent millions of dollars in ads with James estimating about $150 million from both campaigns. He said his campaign has donated over $1 million to charity and then turns his attention to the election results. Speaking of political ads, by the grace of God and your generosity our campaign did something that has never been done. Thatโs a million dollars that could have been used for more ads on top of the god-awful $150 million spent by all sides in the Michigan senate race.
Local 4 News at 5 -- Nov. 23, 2020
Hereโs what you missed on Local 4 News at 5:Michigan Board of State Canvassers certifies General Election resultsMichiganโs Board of State Canvassers has voted to certify the Nov. 3, 2020 General Election results. The vote was 3-1 with one lone Republican board member abstaining during an hourslong meeting on Monday. With all 83 counties having already voted to certify their results, the Board of State Canvassers had what was called a โministerialโ duty to certify the results at the state level. In fact, state law requires the Board of Canvassers to do such within 40 days after the election.