Wayne County Election Results Certified After Initial Deadlock

WAYNE COUNTY, MI — The Wayne County Board of Canvassers voted unanimously Tuesday to certify the county's results from the Nov.3 presidential election after initially deadlocking along party lines with the board's two Republican members voting against certification.

The board voted 4-0 to certify the election results but with a request to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to audit precincts that were discovered to be out-of-balance.

Board members initially failed to certify the county's Nov. 3 election results, splitting the vote to certify the results 2-2.

The initial vote was along party lines, with Monica Palmer, the board chairperson, and William Hartmann — both Republicans — voting against certification. Board Vice Chair Jonathan Kinloch and Allen Wilson, both Democrats, voted in favor of certification.

The board's decision to certify the election results came after Republican members of the board were criticized after 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.

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President Donald Trump claimed the state refused to certify the results.

"Wow! Michigan just refused to certify the election results!" he posted on Twitter. "Having courage is a beautiful thing. The USA stands proud!"

After the initial vote, board members argued about allowing politics to become a part of their vote.

Palmer said she did not have full confidence in how votes were calculated due to a high number of out of balance absentee ballot books and said all votes outside the city of Detroit — where the majority of unbalanced books were found — should be certified. Other board members disagreed.

"It's my hope that the state will take over and work with the clerks," Palmer said.

"I smell politics," another board member rebuked.

Palmer suggested at one point that the board certify Wayne County's election results except for the city of Detroit, which one Democratic board member took issue with.

"(We should) certify this election like we are supposed to," the board member said. "We aren’t going to be picking out people of color."

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan also took issue with the suggestion, and said the board eventually made the right move while adding that claims about election fraud are baseless.

"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!"

Tuesday's meeting — which was held via Zoom for interested members of the public — did not go off without issue. While it was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., issues caused the meeting to be delayed by nearly two hours. When the final vote was taken, it was nearly 9:20 p.m.

The board also capped the online meeting at 100 attendees, meaning many people were unable to attend the public meeting. Capacity was then expanded to 300 people and quickly filled up once more.

Technical issues prior to the start of the recording of the meeting — as well as during — also provided delays and issues for those in virtual attendance.

Canvassers discussed a number of precincts that were out of balance, meaning the number of signatures of people who signed in to the polling location to vote was not the same as the number of people who actually voted at the respective location.

Out of balance precincts can be caused by simple events, however, such as someone visiting a polling location, signing in and then leaving later because the line is too long and they have another obligation.

"Should the current decision of the Board of Wayne County Canvassers hold through the adjournment of today's meeting, the Board of State Canvassers will be responsible for certifying the Wayne County election," Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in a statement after the first vote that ended in a deadlock.

"In similar circumstances in the past, state canvassers have appointed the Bureau of Elections to carry out the processes of canvassing the vote and voter totals. The Bureau stands ready to fulfill this duty and we expect this will address clerical errors and improve the quality of the canvass overall.

"It is common for some precincts in Michigan and across the country to be out of balance by a small number of votes, especially when turnout is high. Importantly, this is not an indication that any votes were improperly cast or counted."

In a statement released ahead of the board's final vote, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer reiterated that Biden won the election by over 140,000 votes and said she was confident the results would be certified once the Board of State of Canvassers finish the job.

"In refusing to approve the results of the election in Wayne County, the two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers have placed partisan politics above their legal duty to certify the election results," Whitmer said in a statement. "The people have spoken: Joe Biden won Michigan by more than 140,000 votes. Today’s action is a blatant attempt to undermine the will of the voters. The process, however, will move forward. Under Michigan law, the Board of State of Canvassers will now finish the job and I have every expectation they will certify the results when the job is done."

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who represents parts of Detroit, said the board put politics above their duty to residents.

"Suggesting that all of Wayne County can be certified, EXCEPT for Detroit, is horrifying racist and a subversion of our democracy," Tlaib wrote in a tweet.

Michigan election law prohibits a precinct that is out of balance to be recounted, however. But the Michigan Secretary of State office said that in Wayne County, precincts that are out of balance without explanation can still be recounted as long as the number of ballots in the container matches the statement of votes on the tabulator. Many containers have not yet been opened, according to the SOS.

Unbalanced precincts have historically been a problem in Detroit, where 72 percent of poll books in the August primary were out of balance. In the 2016 presidential election — when Donald Trump won the state and the presidency — a state audit in Detroit found a series of mismatched Detroit vote totals in the presidential election, attributing them to human error and not to widespread voter fraud.

During that presidential election, 71 percent of precincts could not be balanced, but the audit reduced the magnitude of the discrepancies "significantly."

Dialogue between a county elections worker and board members focused around how the unbalanced precincts weren't just in Detroit, but across the entire county. The worker told board members that due to the significant volume of absentee ballots, local election officials were stretched to the limit.

Tuesday is the deadline for counties in Michigan to certify their election results. In Wayne County, Democratic President-elect Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump 587,074 to 264,149, according to unofficial election results provided by the county ahead of the meeting.

Wayne County has been considered a significant battleground in the Nov. 3 presidential race. A heavy vote gain for Biden through absentee ballots counted late on Election Day and into the following day allowed the presidential challenger to overtake Trump in the county and, eventually, the state.

The late surge drew the ire of Michigan Republicans as well as Trump. Trump on social media began questioning — without evidence — the legitimacy of some absentee ballots. Protesters outside the TCF Center in Detroit where ballots were being counted became disruptive and chanted "Let us in" and "Stop the count," according to people working at the center.

The Trump campaign has filed lawsuits to block the certification of election results in Michigan, but the state appeals court has repeatedly denied the campaign's bids to stop the certification of Detroit-area votes.

A Michigan judge on Friday refused to stop the certification of Detroit-area election results, rejecting claims by Trump's campaign that the city had committed fraud and tainted the count with its handling of absentee ballots.

Friday's ruling marked the third time a judge declined to intervene in a statewide count that shows Biden up by more than 140,000 votes.

Read More: Wayne County Judge Rejects Request For Detroit Election Audit

Despite the legal setbacks, Michigan Republicans have continued to call for full, independent audit of the state's election prior to election results being certified by the state's board of canvassers Monday.

Michigan Senate President Pro Tempore Aric Nesbitt on Monday said he and other Senate Republicans are calling for the audit due to the number of allegations stemming from the absentee ballot counting process.

"We have seen a number of allegations that range from outright fraud, if true, to terrible mistakes that need to be corrected," Nesbitt said. "Citizens deserve to have faith in the integrity of the election process and its outcome. It is our responsibility, as elected public servants, to assure the process's integrity through transparency and the investigation of allegations of wrongdoing. Every legal vote must count."

A broad coalition of top government and industry officials also declared that the Nov. 3 election was "the most secure in American history," except for the usual minor hiccups.

"There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised," the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a statement Thursday.