Detroiters Speak Up After Deadlock Vote On Election Certification

DETROIT, MI — Volunteer election workers, a U.S. Air Force veteran and more than a dozen city of Detroit residents on Tuesday spoke up when they felt politics were getting in the way of certifying the Nov. 3 election results in Wayne County.

The board initially deadlocked on certification 2-2, with the Wayne County Board of Canvassers' two Republican members voting against certification.

Election workers speaking to the board said that despite unpleasant and disruptive poll challengers, the ballot counting process went smoothly. Others, including residents in the city of Detroit, called the two votes to not certify the election results politically and even racially motived.

"This is not the first time this happens," Adonis Flores said during the public comment portion of the meeting while speaking of being treated unfairly due to being a person of color.

"To us, being a citizen is not enough," he added. "Our rights still get trampled on and that's what you're doing here today."

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In a nearly six hour meeting, the board's first vote was 2-2 along party lines, failing to certify the results. But after about three hours of public comments, the board took a second vote, opting to certify the results under the condition that Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson audit precincts that were discovered to be out-of-balance.

Wayne County, a Democratic stronghold, is significant in that it is Michigan's largest county. Biden defeated Trump by more than 322,000 votes in the Wayne County, according to unofficial results, on his way to carrying the state. Biden's overall lead in Michigan over Trump is nearly 146,000 votes, according to unofficial results.

Tuesday's vote to certify election results in Wayne County means the state will meet Nov. 23 to certify statewide election results.

After the board's initial decision to not certify the results, outrage flared at a suggestion that all of Wayne County should be certified aside from the city of Detroit. During the public comment period, several callers had harsh words for the board's decision. The move was questioned as being racially motivated by one board member, considering the city's majority Black population.

Monica Palmer, the board chairperson, made the suggestion.

"(We should) certify this election like we are supposed to," a Democratic board member said in response. "We aren't going to be picking out people of color."

Wayne County residents who sat in on the meeting agreed with the Democratic board members' views. Sarida Scott, a Detroit resident who worked at the TCF Center, said election officials at the center did an amazing job despite frequent interruptions, yelling and chants of "stop the count."

She added that the two Republican board members had political and racial motives behind their votes.

"I am dismayed and disgusted by the travesty that has occurred here this evening and the blatant racism that has fueled it," she said. "Please know the people's voices will be heard."

Another member of the public, Ned Staebler, chastised the two Republican board members for their initial votes to not certify the election results, saying they had made their decisions prior to viewing election information.

Staebler called out the board members who suggesting they certify election results outside of Detroit after previously acknowledging that Livonia, a city that is predominately white, had higher out-of-balance variances than Detroit.

"I just want to let you know that the Trump stink and stain of racism that you, William Hartman and Monica Palmer, have just covered yourself in is going to follow you throughout history," Staebler told the board members. "Your grandchildren are going to think of you like Bull Connor or George Wallace. Monica Palmer and William Hartman will forever be known in southeastern Michigan as two racists who did something so unprecedented that they disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of Black voters in the city of Detroit."

Joseph Zimmerman, an Air Force veteran and University of Michigan law student, told the board Tuesday that while working as a nonpartisan observer at the TCF Center on Election Day there were no issues with the processing of absentee ballots.

Zimmerman told the board that he believed the workers and supervisors working to ensure ballots were processed did "an outstanding job of counting every vote," despite aggressive Republican challengers.

"(They worked well) even as the numerous Republican challengers in the room repeatedly made challenges that were baseless and lacked credibility," he said. "(It was) like challengers had clearly been coached to challenge every ballot that wasn't for Trump."

Clare Allenson, the civic engagement director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, also recounted aggressive Republican challengers.

"(Election workers) were further intimidated by Republican challengers who not only made claims of malfeasance or something else but also refused to wear PPE," she said.

The suggestion of not including Detroit when certifying Wayne County election results was also something Allenson said she took issue with.

"To say that you would certify these votes across the county, side from one city, again, is a disgrace," she said.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan was critical of board members who initially suggested not including Detroit in their election certification and thanked Detroit residents who spoke up.

"Had the Board of Canvassers disenfranchised 1.4 million Wayne County voters over partisan politics, it would have been an historically shameful act," he said on Twitter. "Glad to see common sense prevailed in the end. Thank you to all those citizens who spoke up so passionately - you made the difference!"

But to some, the two board members opposing the certification simply were bullied into changing their votes.

Trump campaign legal adviser Jenna Ellis called the members of the public who commented after the initial vote a "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," she said on Twitter. "America doesn’t yield to the mob!"

Trump took to Twitter to share his dismay with Detroit residents speaking out at the meeting, saying the two dissenting board members were "forced" to change their vote.

"At first they voted against because there were far more VOTES than PEOPLE (Sad!)," Trump tweeted. "Then they were threatened, screamed at and viciously harassed, and were FORCED to change their vote, but then REFUSED, as American patriots, to sign the documents. 71% MESS. Don’t Harass!"