UPDATE: Wayne County REVERSES COURSE and certifies election results after deadlock

by The Right Scoop

MAJOR UPDATE: Apparently the courageous Republicans on the canvassing board for Wayne County just reversed course and agreed to certify the election:

 
Michigan Republicans are demanding that the Secretary of State perform and audit:

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Wayne County, Michigan, home of Detroit, has just refused to certify the election results:

DETROIT NEWS – The Wayne County Board of Canvassers deadlocked 2-2 Tuesday along party lines on whether the county’s Nov. 3 election results should be certified as at least four state and federal lawsuits sought to stop the process.

The decision came after a number of absentee ballot poll books in Detroit were found to be out of balance, a situation that did not stop the same board from certifying the results in the August primary or the county’s November 2016 general election results.

Board Vice Chairman Jonathan Kinloch, a Democrat, called the decision by the two Republican members “reckless and irresponsible.”

Chairwoman Monica Palmer, a Republican, defended the decision.

“Based on what I saw and went through in poll books in this canvass, I believe that we do not have complete and accurate information in those poll books,” she said.

When Kinloch protested that additional county tax money is being spent on the ongoing canvass, Palmer said she would be open to certifying much of Wayne County with the exception of Detroit.

So what happens next?

A county board that fails to canvass within 14 days after the election must give all of its documentation to the Secretary of State’s office and Board of State Canvassers, which then has 10 days to complete the work, canvass and certify the results, according to the board’s canvassing manual.

Wayne County must pay for the state canvassing work, according to board guidance.

The county’s election results will move the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, which is scheduled to meet Wednesday morning to get an update on the canvassing process and is expected to consider the question of certification of Michigan’s results on Monday.

There’s a history of vote reconciliation being a problem in Detroit:

The board’s two Republican lawmakers were present during the absentee ballot counting process at TCF Center in Detroit.

Palmer said part of the reason she observed the process was because of some of the problems identified during the canvassing of the August primary.

In August, 72% of Detroit’s poll books were found to be out of balance, a condition that precluded them from being used if a recount were requested. The issues prompted the state to send in additional help ahead of the general election, including veteran state elections official Thomas.

Detroit had problems with precinct count mismatches in the November 2016 election. Election officials couldn’t reconcile vote totals for 59% of precincts in the city during a countywide canvass of vote results with most of the issues involving too many votes.

According to Jenna Ellis, if the state board also refuses to certify the results, it will go ot the Republican state legislature and they will pick the electors:

 
Lastly, you should understand the courage of these two Republicans who refused to allow certification. They have become enemy #1 in this country:


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