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Michigan’s 2020 election saga is finally over. At its meeting yesterday, the State Board of Canvassers voted to certify the results, formally awarding 16 presidential electoral votes to Democrat Joe Biden.
The vote came after weeks of controversy, in which Republican President Donald Trump repeatedly charged that the election had been rigged against him. As recently as Saturday morning, he tweeted, “Massive voter fraud will be shown!”
No proof of fraud was ever introduced, though, and several court cases brought by the Trump campaign were dismissed quickly because of lack of evidence.
At yesterday’s meeting of the four person board, the two Democrats were joined by Republican Aaron Van Langevelde, who said he had reviewed the laws governing the state canvassing process, and saw no legal authority to delay the certification.
The other Republican, Norman Shinkle, had originally indicated he would vote against certification. He wound up abstaining, after saying that he preferred that the board delay a decision until after an audit of Wayne County votes could take place.
State Republican Chair Laura Cox also asked the board to hold off until an audit was complete. However, state law does not permit election audits until at least 30 days after votes have been certified.
The Trump Campaign issued a statement dismissing the certification as “simply a procedural step,” and promised to continue “combatting election fraud.”
Following the certification, all four members of the board voted to request that the legislature create a bipartisan commission to review the election, with an emphasis on finding ways to modernize the procedure and improve training.
The decision ratifies Biden’s victory over Trump in Michigan by a margin of around 154,000 votes – a nearly three percent advantage. It also confirms Democratic Senator Gary Peters’ win over Republican challenger John James by around 92,000 votes – a 1.8 percent margin.
