Experts were shocked in Wayne County, Michigan after two Republicans on the county election board reversed their decision to certify the election results.
And they’re saying that they will not move forward until serious election irregularities in the Democratic county are solved. The two originally refused to certify the results after their panel of election board canvassers split a 2-2 vote, but later relented after hours of debate.
According to both Monica Palmer’s and William Hartmann’s words in official affidavits, they claimed to have been bullied into approving the election results they said to have potential integrity issues.
They certified the results after Democrats promised to audit the election in the county, but later rescinded when it became clear that wasn’t going to happen.
Palmer, one of the two Republicans, said poll books in certain precincts in Detroit were out of balance. “I rescind my prior vote to certify Wayne County elections,” she said in her affidavit.
Palmer went on to explain that nearly three quarters of Detroit’s poll contain serious “discrepancies,” according to the political website Just The News. Detroit is heavily made up of Democratic voters, which means the results in Wayne County in swing state Michigan has national implications.
“The Wayne County election had serious process flaws which deserve investigation,” Palmer said. “I continue to ask for information to assure Wayne County voters that these elections were conducted fairly and accurately. Despite repeated requests I have not received the requisite information and believe an additional 10 days of canvas by the State Board of canvassers will help provide the information necessary.”
Hartmann expressed a similar sentiment.
“I voted not to certify, and I still believe this vote should not be certified,” Hartmann said in his affidavits. “Until these questions are addressed, I remain opposed to certification of the Wayne County results.”
President Donald Trump relished the initial developments in Michigan, tweeting, “Having courage is a beautiful thing.”
At least six election-related lawsuits have been filed in Michigan, the latest one landing in federal court on Sunday.
Experts say the issues that Trump’s allies have raised are typical in every election: problems with signatures, secrecy envelopes, and postal marks on mail-in ballots, as well as the potential for a small number of ballots miscast or lost.
Trump’s lawyers say they have evidence of mass voter fraud and promised to “release the Kraken” this week, but have not yet shared the information with either the public or the court system.
On Tuesday, the Arizona Republican Party asked a judge to bar Maricopa County, the state’s most populous, from certifying until the court issues a decision about the party’s lawsuit seeking a new hand-count of a sampling of ballots. In a more rural county, Mohave, election certification was delayed until Nov. 23 in a sign of solidarity with the remaining election challenges in the state.
Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, stepped into a courtroom for the first time in decades Tuesday to argue in Pennsylvania that the certification there should be delayed over concerns of voter fraud, though he presented none of the evidence he’s repeatedly promised conservatives that he has found.
You can view the affidavit of Monica Palmer here.
You can view the affidavit of William Hartmann here.
The Associated Press contributed to this article