Republicans in key Michigan county ask to rescind votes to certify election

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Republicans in key Michigan county ask to rescind votes to certify election


Republican members of the Board of Canvassers in Wayne County, Mich., asked to rescind their votes to certify the election one day after casting them during a contentious meeting.

The board's GOP chairwoman, Monica Palmer, - and - board member William Hartmann signed affidavits on Wednesday stating that they only voted for the certification because other members promised a full audit of the county's votes.

Palmer's affidavit stated that “the Wayne County election had serious process flaws which deserve investigation. I continue to ask for information to assure Wayne County voters that these elections were conducted fairly and accurately."

“Late in the evening, I was enticed to agree to certify based on the promise that a full and independent audit would take place. I would not have agreed to the certification but for the promise of an audit,” reads Hartmann's affidavit.

It's unclear what effects, if any, the two affidavits will have, as the board members already voted unanimously Tuesday night to certify the election results in the heavily Democratic county, which includes Detroit, Michigan's largest city.

The two Republicans initially sought to delay certification, including in one instance by moving during Tuesday's proceedings to certify results from all parts of the county except Detroit.

The move provoked vocal outrage from Detroit residents during the Zoom proceedings and a swift condemnation from Detroit's mayor, Mike Duggan (D).

"You could see the racism in the behavior last night,” the mayor said at a press conference on Wednesday. “American democracy cracked last night, but it didn’t break. But we are seeing a real threat to everything we believe in.”

Earlier this week, President-elect Joe Biden had a nearly 150,000-vote lead over President Trump in Michigan, which was called in Biden's favor, and a nearly 40-point lead in Wayne County.

Updated at 8:55 a.m.


 
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QueEx

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Must've gotten that tap on the shoulder from Trump's people


Michigan Republican who balked at certifying election results says Trump called her

The Hill
11/19/20


A GOP member of the canvassing board in Wayne County, Mich., said President Trump called her earlier this week after she and another Republican on the board initially refused to certify election results showing President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election.

Monica Palmer confirmed to The Washington Post that Trump called her on Tuesday night after she and William Hartmann balked at approving the election results. The two eventually relented and certified the results, but on Wednesday both Palmer and Hartmann sought to rescind their certification.

Palmer, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Hill, told the Post that Trump called "to make sure I was safe."

“His concern was about my safety and that was really touching. He is a really busy guy and to have his concern about my safety was appreciated,” she told the news outlet.

Palmer denied that she felt pressured by Trump to reverse course after agreeing to certify the vote. She indicated the two discussed the results in different states, but "we really didn’t discuss the details of the certification."

Wayne County, a Democratic stronghold, is home to Detroit and voted overwhelmingly for Biden. The Trump campaign on Thursday morning withdrew its lawsuit in the state, saying that it achieved its goal of delaying certification in Wayne County.

But Michigan officials have said that Palmer and Hartmann voted to certify the results on Tuesday night and they will not be able to rescind that approval.

Trump's intervention is the latest red flag in his attempts to undo the results of an election that he lost to Biden. He has spent the two weeks since Election Day sowing doubt about the reliability of the vote, attacking election workers and insisting that he won states that he did not win.


 
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