LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – After almost four hours of discussion and debate, Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers Monday afternoon voted to certify the November 3 General Election results.
The vote was 3-0 with Republican board member Norm Shinkle abstaining.
The Republican National Committee, Michigan Republican Party, some state lawmakers, and other supporters of President Trump and losing GOP Senate candidate John James had urged the panel to delay voting for two weeks to audit votes in heavily Democratic Wayne County, home to Detroit.
Prior to the vote, Shinkle told the Detroit Free Press he was leaning toward a “delay” vote. He said he was concerned about transparency, the election equipment used, and the absentee voting process.
Joe Biden took Wayne County by more than a 2-1 margin and won Michigan by 154,000 votes, according to the unofficial results. He will be awarded Michigan’s 16 electoral votes.
The meeting started shorty after 1:00 p.m. Board member Julie Matuzak (D) motioned for the election to be certified, but Board member Aaron Van Langevelde (R) said he thought public comment was necessary before that could be done.
Matuzak, Van Langevelde and Chair Jeannette Bradshaw (D) ended up voting to certify the results after hours of public comment. The vote came down just after 4:30 p.m. Monday.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said after the Board of Canvassers vote “I commend the three members of the State Board of Canvassers who voted to follow the law and certify the 2020 election results today. The people of Michigan have spoken. President-elect Biden won the State of Michigan by more than 154,000 votes, and he will be our next president on January 20th.”
“I also want to thank Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and the local clerks across Michigan who made sure this year’s election was free, fair and secure, and the voters who turned out in record numbers to make their voices heard. Now, it’s time to put this election behind us and come together as a state to defeat our common enemy: COVID-19.”
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