It seems to be a mystery whether Michigan will be legally certifying the 2020 election outcome by their deadline of November 23.
A day after the deadline for county canvassing boards to certify their elections Republicans William Hartmann and Monica Palmer on the Wayne County Board of Canvassers both rescinded the votes they cast to certify the results. In a signed affidavit from Monica Palmer, the chairperson and one of the two Republicans on the board, she said the county’s election had “serious process flaws which deserve investigation.” Of Detroit’s 503 election day precincts, 85 of them had unexplained discrepancies in the vote count. Of the city’s 134 absentee voter counting boards, 94 didn’t add up.
She also said that she felt threatened after several remarks from the public accused her of racism and that Democrats on the board had bullied her into certifying the vote.
Palmer and Hartmann caused a firestorm after choosing to not certify the election on Tuesday. During a zoom call that afternoon, a public comments portion of the meeting saw dozens of people bullying the Republicans, calling their decision racist.
The two agreed to vote yes after Vice-Chairman Jonathan Kinloch said if the two voted to certify the results, a complete independent audit of the city’s elections would be undertaken.
Then, as written in the affidavits provided by Palmer and Hartmann, “Michigan Secretary of State Joceyln Benson made a public claim that the representations made by Mr. Kinloch, on which we had relied, would not be followed.”
There is no legal basis to their claims nor does there exist a path for them to “take back” their vote. Certifying all election results for the state is now in the hands of the Michigan Board of Canvassers,” read a statement from Democrat Chair Lavora Barnes.
The state canvassing board originally planned to meet the day after to take a look at the Wayne County vote. But with the certification, the meeting was canceled. The board is scheduled to meet on Nov. 23 to certify the state’s results.
