Published 06:50 IST, November 20th 2020
Donald Trump's campaign withdraws lawsuit in Michigan challenging certification of ballots
President Donald Trump's reelection campaign on Thursday withdrew a lawsuit in the state of Michigan challenging the certification of ballots in Wayne County.
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US President Donald Trump's reelection campaign on Thursday, November 19, withdrew a lawsuit in the state of Michigan challenging the certification of ballots in Wayne County. A lawyer, representing the Trump campaign, said the lawsuit was being withdrawn because the county's board of canvassers, who are tasked with approving the results, have declined to certify the ballots. However, it turned out that the two Republicans, out of the four canvassers tasked with the responsibility to approve the results, later changed their decision and certified the ballots.
Donald Trump, who lost the state of Michigan to Joe Biden, celebrated the blockade by Republican members as a "win" against voter fraud on Twitter, which was later flagged by the micro-blogging platform as a "disputed claim".
The Great State of Michigan, with votes being far greater than the number of people who voted, cannot certify the election. The Democrats cheated big time, and got caught. A Republican WIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2020
According to NPR, the Republican canvassers Monica Palmer and William Hartman initially declined to approve the results but later certified the ballots after they faced a lot of criticism from residents during a public comment period, and from leaders on social media. The Wayne County also includes the Black majority Detroit, which heavily voted for President-elect Joe Biden and was the major point of contention for the Republican members, who were objecting to the results. Palmer and Hartman agreed to approve the votes after reassurance of an audit of the tally of the ballots.
Every court on the Detroit election results has ruled that Trump’s claims of error were baseless. Had the Board of Canvassers disenfranchised 1.4 million Wayne County voters over partisan politics, it would have been an historically shameful act.
— Mayor Mike Duggan (@MayorMikeDuggan) November 18, 2020
It’s plain and simple, folks. The Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers put politics above their duty to our residents. Suggesting that all of Wayne County can be certified, EXCEPT for Detroit, is horrifying racist and a subversion of our democracy.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) November 17, 2020
US election 2020
The lawsuit in Michigan was one among the many that the Trump campaign and the Republican National Convention (RNC) have filed following the outcome of the result. The Republican President has alleged widespread voter fraud in several states accusing poll officials of "illegally" counting votes after 8 p.m on the final election day. But experts claim that poll officials were following court orders while counting late-arriving votes as they were allowed to do so keeping in mind the large-scale mail-in-voting this election due to COVID-10 concerns.
Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden was declared President-elect by all major US media outlets on November 7, after the former vice-president managed to secure a massive lead in the key swing state of Pennsylvania. Biden was just 6 electoral votes short before he won Pennsylvania's 20 seats, which easily catapulted him to 284, way above the magic 270-mark needed to win the US Presidential election.
06:50 IST, November 20th 2020