BOARD OF CANVASSERS

The Michigan Republican Party has resubmitted a list of three nominees to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to fill a vacancy on the state’s Board of Canvassers after the Democratic governor rejected an initial list due to one nominee, a current state...

Organizers behind two high-profile proposed laws in Michigan skipped a deadline to potentially appear on November’s ballot and will instead look to get the initiatives approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

A Michigan Republican who made national headlines for refusing to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election — and was a vocal anti-vaxxer who...

A Trump-adoring Wayne County Republican who spread misinformation about COVID-19 and the vaccine has been hospitalized in intensive care after contracting the virus. William Hartmann,...

GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- The county Board of Canvassers has certified the results of the Nov. 2 election, allowing local officials who were elected to take their seats. The review of the election did not cause changes in the results of any individual races and showed just 12.8 percent of registered voters cast ballots. Gleason asked the county commissioners Wednesday, Nov. 10, to rescind their vote appointing Quinn, but the board did not take that action. The board certifies elections for local, countywide and district offices, which are contained entirely within the county they serve. Read more:Genesee County election canvasser to resign, won’t certify Nov. 2 election resultsFlint City Council cancels meeting to elect leaders until Nov. 2 election is certifiedNew Flint City Council members cannot take office until canvassing is complete, county clerk says

A circuitous legal attempt to block a Republican-supported ballot initiative aimed at repealing the governor’s emergency powers has resulted in a Court of Claims lawsuit being filed against Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. While focused on negating ballot petition signatures collected by Unlock Michigan, opposition group Keep Michigan Safe claims Benson has failed to properly establish “uniform standards for the verification of ballot question petition signatures” as required by a Michigan election law that took effect in 2000. Fred Wszolek, a spokesman for Unlock Michigan, called the “whole thing nuts” and said the ballot initiative committee plans to get involved in the lawsuit as an intervening party to defend its own interests. Keep Michigan Safe accuses Unlock Michigan of illegally hiring a third-party consultant company, National Petition Management, to manage its petition drive. Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office in September launched an investigation into Unlock Michigan after receiving complaints of deceptive collection practices and the video came to public light.

A Wayne County judge denied a request to audit the county’s election results before Michigan’s electors cast their vote for Joe Biden next week, citing an already-planned audit by the Secretary of State. Wayne County Judge Timothy Kenny said a group of voters who sued Detroit-area election officials are entitled to seek an audit, but not one supervised by county officials. Plaintiffs Cheryl Costantino and Edward McCall initially filed the lawsuit seeking to discredit Detroit’s election results with discredited allegations of fraud. Defendants named in the lawsuit include the city of Detroit, clerks for Detroit and Wayne County and the Wayne County Board of Canvassers. READ MORE ON MLIVE:Texas sues Michigan, other states over election procedures in lawsuit Nessel calls ‘publicity stunt’Judge denies request for restraining order to block destruction of Michigan election data‘Ship has sailed,’ federal judge says while denying Republican request to block Michigan election results

The Michigan Court of Appeals has rejected a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump’s campaign over Michigan election results, deeming the legal effort “moot.”In a ruling issued late Friday, Dec. 4, a three-judge panel ruled they would not hear an appeal from Trump’s campaign to an earlier Court of Claims decision. Judge Stephen Borrello authored the brief ruling, essentially saying Trump’s lawyers missed filing deadlines to make a legal challenge. It wasn’t immediately clear Friday evening if the Trump campaign would appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court. Trump lost the election in Michigan to President-elect Joe Biden by about 150,000 votes. The Trump campaign lawyers wanted the Court of Appeals to intervene following a Nov. 5 ruling from Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens.

It’s worth taking a moment to read Politico’s latest deep dive into the state of Michigan’s Nov. 3, 2020 General Election controversy. In the end, one Republican lawyer’s decision to simply stick to the law as it is written cemented Michigan’s election outcome, upholding more than five million votes in a record-breaking year for the state’s voter turnout. A lot of the unproven claims about voter fraud came directly from the Michigan Republican Party and President Donald Trump himself. Like clockwork, one can always depend on controversies—sometimes mini-scandals—to spring up by noontime on any given Election Day. Much of this owed to months of tireless preparation by election officials at the state and local level.

Michigan Attorney General's OfficeAttorney General Dana Nessel. But the next day, after Trump called, they attempted to rescind their votes to certify the results. "Nessel's office says its Criminal Investigations Division initiated its investigation shortly after last week's Board of Canvassers meeting. "I had one person even suggest simply, you got to vote yes to certify for the safety of your family." Palmer also told the paper that she received "photos of dead, naked women and threats saying her daughter would be killed.

Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers has voted to certify the Nov. 3, 2020 General Election results. With all 83 counties having already voted to certify their results, the Board of State Canvassers had what was called a “ministerial” duty to certify the results at the state level. In fact, state law requires the Board of Canvassers to do such within 40 days after the election. The vote to certify Michigan’s election results officially awards the state’s 16 electoral votes to Joe Biden in the presidential election. Board member Norman D. Shinkle (R) abstained from voting after questioning the balance of votes in certain precincts, specifically in Detroit.

Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers has voted to certify the Nov. 3, 2020 General Election results. With all 83 counties having already voted to certify their results, the Board of State Canvassers had what was called a “ministerial” duty to certify the results at the state level. In fact, state law requires the Board of Canvassers to do such within 40 days after the election. The vote to certify Michigan’s election results officially awards the state’s 16 electoral votes to Joe Biden in the presidential election. Board member Norman D. Shinkle (R) abstained from voting after questioning the balance of votes in certain precincts, specifically in Detroit.

The state of Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers is scheduled to vote on certifying the Nov. 3, 2020 General Election results on Monday. With all 83 counties having already voted to certify their results, the Board of State Canvassers is scheduled to meet to canvass the November general election at 1 p.m. Monday. The board is expected to vote on certifying the results during this meeting. The meeting will be open to the public. Search here to find key Michigan race resultsFollow updates on Michigan’s certification here:

Michigan will be the epicenter of national politics on Monday as the Board of State Canvassers meets to certify general election results showing Joe Biden won the state by 154,000 votes. Critics have said the lawmakers were beckoned to the nation’s capital by Trump in an effort to influence the election results. Michigan’s election agency has recommended the Nov. 3 election results be certified by the Board of State Canvassers, including Biden’s 2.8% victory. The state election board has never deadlocked over a presidential election. Aaron Van Langevelde, a Republican state canvasser, was the Branch County assistant prosecutor before becoming an attorney for the House Republican Caucus.

DETROIT – There’s an old legal theory you can’t unring a bell, but two GOP members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers are trying to. They’re attempting to reverse their vote in an effort to stop the certification of Wayne County ballots that they approved on Tuesday. “I remain in the firm belief that the Wayne County vote should not be certified. This is the Wayne County Board of Canvassers and we have the responsibility to carry out official actions on behalf of the public,” Kinloch said. Their job is done and the next step in the process is for the board of state canvassers to meet and certify.”You can watch the full report in the video posted above.

While President Donald Trump won nearly 60 percent of votes cast in person, President-elect Joe Biden won by an even larger margin among absentee votes in the county, collecting more than 66 percent of those votes. None of the lawsuits challenging Michigan’s election process have won a court battle yet. Election officials “did their job.”“We are grateful in Genesee County that the Board of Canvassers unanimously supported and certified this election,” he said. The county Board of Canvassers is comprised of two Democrats and two Republicans, appointed by the county Board of Commissioners to certify election returns for national, state, local and school offices. Read more:Wayne County Republican canvassers can’t rescind their votes to certify election, says Secretary of StateReport: Michigan legislative leaders invited to White House by President TrumpWayne County canvassers, after last-minute reversal, certified election results.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has invited two top Republican Michigan lawmakers to the White House this week. Senate Republican Leader Mike Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield will reportedly attend a meeting a the White House on Friday. It is telling that Michigan GOP legislative leaders Mike Shirkey and Lee Chatfield are jetting off to Washington DC this week to meet with President Trump. Two Republican members of the board -- Monica Palmer and William Hartmann -- refused to certify the election results on Tuesday. Read more: Trump targets Wayne County vote certification in late bid to block Biden

DETROIT – Here’s what you missed on Local 4 News at Noon. America’s Thanksgiving Parade will be a virtual production this yearThis year’s theme is “We Are One Together.” The parade will honor frontline workers and heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic. The parade will include floats, performers, helium balloons and Santa.

The Secretary of State office’s statement comes after a whirlwind of a week for the Wayne County Board of Canvassers. In her affidavit, Palmer said “the Wayne County election had serious process flaws which deserve investigation. The Michigan Board of State Canvassers has until Nov. 23 to certify the election itself. And as always, under state law our department conducts these audits after the Board of State Canvassers has certified the election. The Michigan Republican Party condemns the actions of Democrats and we will continue to fight for transparency and integrity in Wayne County elections.

Two Republicans serving on the Wayne County Board of Canvassers want to rescind their votes to certify results of the general election. Related: Wayne County Republican canvassers reverse course, vote to certify election resultsThe Secretary of State’s office, however, argues there is no legal mechanism for Palmer and Hartmann to rescind their votes. As a result of these facts, I rescind my prior vote to certify Wayne County elections.”Benson has committed to investigating the plethora of unbalanced precinct totals in Wayne County communities, but has also said the board’s demand for an independent audit didn’t appear to be binding. Most of the unbalanced Wayne County precincts reported to the board Tuesday were off by three or four votes. Related news:Wayne County canvassers, after last-minute reversal, certified election results.

Trending 📈🇨🇦 Report: Canada extends US border closure until Dec. 21The U.S.-Canada border will remain closed to non-essential travel for another month, according to reports. The current extension of the border crossing restrictions was set to expire Nov. 21, 2020. The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 277,806 as of Wednesday, including 8,190 deaths, state officials report. New COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise in Michigan. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 125,000 on Tuesday, near its highest mark on record.

Republicans Monica Palmer and William Hartmann initially voted against certification Tuesday, leaving the Wayne County Board of Canvassers deadlocked at 2-2 along party lines. But he said he was bombarded with phone calls and emails from random Trump supporters urging him not to approve the election results. Michigan Republican Party Chair Laura Cox reacted swiftly after the initial Wayne County deadlock. An email landed immediately at the AP, with Cox saying she was proud that the party's work had caused GOP canvassers to refuse to bless the election results. This certifies the entire state, said Thomas, who added that by not certifying the county results, the state board would “would basically nullify the entire election” in Michigan.

DETROIT – Here’s what you missed on Local 4 News at Noon. Wayne County Board of Canvassers certifies election results after GOP refusalThe Wayne County Board of Canvassers unanimously voted to certify the November election results Tuesday and asked the Michigan Secretary of State to conduct an audit of any Wayne County precincts with unexplained mismatching vote totals.

DETROIT – Michigan workers who returned to work after being on unemployment and are now temporarily unemployed again should reopen their claims online, officials said. The Unemployment Insurance Agency released this information as the state’s COVID-19 restrictions are set to be tightened Wednesday (Nov. 17) through Dec. 8. WATCH Local 4 News at 11Metro Detroit weather: Snow showers linger before warmer temperatures arriveSnow showers linger before warmer air rescues us for the second half of the week. Originally, two Republican members voted not to certify and two Democratic members voted to certify. Read MoreMonday, Nov. 16, 2020 --

DETROIT – The Wayne County Board of Canvassers has reversed its vote on Tuesday and unanimously approved to certify election votes hours after it was split. READ: Deadlocked Wayne County Board of Canvassers fails to certify election resultsREAD: Judge denies GOP lawsuit to halt certification of Detroit election resultsThe lawsuit, filed by a group of Republican challengers, was based on allegations of fraud, surrounding the count at the TCF Center in downtown Detroit. The lawsuit was initially denied by a Wayne County judge on Friday, saying that it was “incorrect and not credible.”Lawyers appealed and were rejected on Monday. The state Court of Appeals said it wasn’t convinced the Wayne County judge made a mistake by refusing to stop the work of county canvassers. That means efforts to stop the certification of Detroit area votes hit a road block.

Update: Wayne County Republican canvassers reverse course, vote to certify election resultsThe Wayne County Board of Canvassers deadlocked Tuesday evening in a 2-2 vote on certifying 867,409 votes cast in the Nov. 3 election, leaving results in the presidential race, as well as local races, unofficial. Most of the unbalanced Wayne County precincts reported to the board Tuesday were off by three or four votes. “There is no reason, for the first time in the city’s history, not to certify the election results,” Remlinger said. A group of Republican poll challengers who sued last week to invalidate all Wayne County votes was denied by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Kenny, and again this week by the Michigan Court of Appeals. Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox said in a statement that the Wayne County Board of Canvassers' inability to certify the results buys the party more time to investigate irregularities.

The two Democrats on the panel voted to certify the results, while the two Republicans voted against it. President-elect Joe Biden won Michigan by more than 148,000 votes, a win made possible by a strong showing in Wayne County. According to Michigan law, the Board of State Canvassers is now required to deal with the results from Wayne County within 10 days. The Board of State Canvassers similarly has two Democrats and two Republicans. It is unclear what would happen if the state board reaches the same partisan deadlock.

The Court of Appeals said late Monday that the plaintiffs don’t have enough evidence of “manifest error” in Kenny’s ruling. The lawsuit alleges widespread voter fraud at Detroit’s TCF Center where absentee ballot vote counting took place. He’s asking for an independent audit, the voiding of the Detroit results or a new election. None of the Republican lawsuits have won a Michigan court battle yet. RELATED STORIESAs one Michigan lawsuit challenging election results is dropped, another is filedMichigan Judge says Republicans' claims are ‘incorrect and not credible’ in voter fraud lawsuitRepublicans in voter fraud lawsuit ‘don’t understand how elections function,’ city of Detroit says in responseFormer Secretary of State calls for independent audit of election results in Michigan voter fraud lawsuit

DETROIT – The Wayne County Board of Canvassers will move forward with certifying election votes after the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected a request to delay certification. UPDATE Nov. 19, 2020: Trump campaign withdraws federal lawsuit challenging Michigan election resultsA lawsuit, filed by a group of Republican challengers, asked the court to require an independent audit of votes cast by people in Wayne County. The state Court of Appeals said it wasn’t convinced the Wayne County judge made a mistake by refusing to stop the work of county canvassers. The Wayne County Board of Canvassers will meet Tuesday afternoon to vote on certifying election results. UPDATE: Michigan: GOP canvassers can’t legally rescind Wayne County election certification vote

DETROIT – The Wayne County Board of Canvassers' Wednesday Zoom meeting ended up getting Zoom-bombed by an unknown amount of people hurling expletives. The meeting was held online and a link was available for the public to join the meeting. Threats and vulgar statements were made about the Board of Canvassers' mothers. With Wayne County at the center of President Trump’s lawsuits, as well as exhaustion after the count and the continuing drama, just about the last thing the Wayne County Board of Canvassers needed was people Zoom-bombing the meeting. "People act all sort of kind of ways.”The board is not letting the online obnoxiousness slow down their work.

The process must be complete by Nov. 17 when county boards have to send totals to the Secretary of State. On Dec. 14, Michigan’s 16 electors meet to vote for the candidates their names represented on the ballot. How Detroit suburbs voted in 2020 presidential electionWe’re taking a closer look at how Metro Detroit voted for president in the Nov. 3 General Election. Detroit’s election turnout was 49.56% -- 250,138 total votes out of 504,714 registered voters. In Oakland County, Biden won with 56.36% of the vote -- 433,982 total votes for the Democrat.

DETROIT The Michigan Board of Canvassers is asking the Secretary of State to get more closely involved in Detroits next election. According to officials, 72 percent of Detroits absentee ballots werent re-countable based on irregularities in ballot handling. READ: Board of Canvassers: 72 percent of Detroit absentee precincts have inaccurate countsEarlier this month, there were a lot of new election workers. Start with that, and then get as many qualified people as you can and know what theyre doing for at least this Novembers election, Shinkle said. Wayne County Board of Canvassers member Jonathan Kinlock agrees with Shinkle and said a lot needs to change with the citys election department.