Trump Campaign Files Lawsuit To Halt Ballot Counting In Michigan

MICHIGAN — The campaign of President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit in the Michigan Court of Claims to halt ballot counting "until meaningful access has been granted," the campaign announced Wednesday.

Trump's campaign manager, Bill Stepien, said Wednesday that the lawsuit is also demanding to review ballots that were opened and counted while the campaign did not have access.

“As votes in Michigan continue to be counted, the presidential race in the state remains extremely tight as we always knew it would be," Bill Stepien, Trump's campaign manager said in a statement. "President Trump’s campaign has not been provided with meaningful access to numerous counting locations to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process, as guaranteed by Michigan law.

"President Trump is committed to ensuring that all legal votes are counted in Michigan and everywhere else.”

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A spokesperson for the Michigan Attorney General's office said the state has not be served a subpoena.

As of about 1 p.m. Wednesday, and with about 96 percent of votes tallied in Michigan, Biden has a growing lead over Trump. Biden has pulled in 2,621,243 votes to Trump's 2,575,932, according to unofficial results provided by The Detroit News.

Related: Trump Falls Further Behind Biden In Michigan's Presidential Race

Trump had already expressed concern after a strong lead in Michigan began to diminish, eventually being overtaken by Biden. He posted on social media accusations about "finding" ballots, when absentee and mail-in ballot totals were added to unofficial election results across the state.

"They are finding Biden votes all over the place — in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. So bad for our Country!" Trump tweeted.

When a large lead in the race for U.S. Senate between Democratic Sen. Gary Peters and Republican challenger John James became a marginal lead, Trump took issue to that, as well. The president posted on Twitter questioning the votes. Peters has since taken over the lead in the Senate race.

"Wow! It looks like Michigan has now found the ballots necessary to keep a wonderful young man, John James, out of the U.S. Senate," he tweeted. "What a terrible thing is happening!"

A spokesperson with the Michigan Attorney General's office said the election process in Michigan has gone off without a hitch, and that it has been done with transparency an access to both political parties.

"At this time our department has not been notified by the Court of Claims about this lawsuit and when we are served, we will review it and respond accordingly," a spokesperson with the AG's office said.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on Wednesday called for patience as election officials across the state count the final votes in what has been a historic election for the state.

Benson said around 11:30 a.m. that more than 100,000 ballots are still being counted in Michigan, in communities ranging from Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint and Kalamazoo. More than 5 million people voted in Michigan, including over 3.2 million absentee voters, Benson said.

"I also call on everyone who's watching this election and everyone who is on the ballot in this election to join us in respecting the work of our election workers here in the state of Michigan," Benson said in a news conference.

In a news conference held at Ford Field in Detroit, Benson said officials will likely be able to have all ballots counted earlier than expected. Benson and her office said earlier in the week that results could take until Friday to be completely counted.

"To me, the winner is democracy today," Benson said. "I don't mean to sound trite or cheesy, it's just it's true."

This story is being updated as more information becomes available.