Wayne County Deadlocks On Election Results Certification

© Shutterstock The Wayne County Board of Canvassers on Tuesday failed to certify the county's Nov. 3 election results, splitting the vote to certify the results 2-2.

WAYNE COUNTY, MI — The Wayne County Board of Canvassers on Tuesday failed to certify the county's Nov. 3 election results, splitting the vote to certify the results 2-2.

The 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.

With Wayne County failing to certify the results, it must provide all election documentation to the Michigan Secretary of State office and state Board of Canvassers, according to Michigan election guidelines. Those entities will then have 10 days to certify the results.

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Following the 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.

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. 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.

Michigan election law prohibits a precinct that is out of balance to be recounted.

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 was 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 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," sans 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.