GOP Michigan State Senators Request Full Election Audit From Secretary of State

A worker with the Detroit Department of Elections reaches for an absentee ballot at the Central Counting Board in the TCF Center in Detroit, Mich., on Nov. 4, 2020. Elaine Cromie/Getty Images

At least two Michigan Republican state senators have requested a full election audit, asking the Michigan secretary of state’s office for a full recount before the election results are certified, according to a letter they sent to her office on Thursday.

State senators Lana Theis and Tom Barrett wrote that Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and canvassers that are reviewing allegations of irregularities and voter fraud made in lawsuits filed by President Donald Trump’s campaign. They are requesting a “full audit” of the election, saying it needs to be done before the state certifies the election results.

“Every citizen deserves to have faith in the integrity of the election process and its outcome,” they said in letters. “It is our responsibility, as elected public servants, to assure the people of Michigan of the process’s integrity through complete transparency and the faithful investigation of any allegations of wrongdoing, fraud, or abuse.”

Their letters made reference to allegations made by Trump’s legal team, claims of witnesses about irregularities at polls, and a glitch that switched 6,000 votes from a Republican official to a Democratic official in Antrim County that was later corrected and acknowledged by the secretary of state’s office, although the Michigan GOP said the same software—Dominion Voting Systems—was used in dozens of other counties. Other allegations from the two lawmakers include ineligible ballots being counted, poll workers being told to backdate ballots, counting the same ballots several times, and other claims.

“The erroneous reporting of unofficial results from Antrim county was a result of accidental error on the part of the Antrim County Clerk. The equipment and software did not malfunction and all ballots were properly tabulated. However, the clerk accidentally did not update the software used to collect voting machine data and report unofficial results,” Benson said in a statement last week about Antrim County’s election results.

Poll workers board up windows of the ballot counting area at the TCF Center in Detroit on Nov. 4, 2020. Seth Herald/AFP via Getty Images

Trump on Thursday accused Dominion of deleting 2.7 million votes for him across the United States and cited a One America News report. Twitter flagged Trump’s claim, saying, “This claim about election fraud is disputed.” Other lawmakers have raised serious concerns about the software, although Dominion has denied such claims.

“Dominion Voting Systems categorically denies any claims about any vote switching or alleged software issues with our voting systems,” a Dominion spokesperson said in a statement to The Denver Post. “Our systems continue to reliably and accurately count ballots, and state and local election authorities have publicly confirmed the integrity of the process.”

Theis and Barrett said there are allegations about unsecured ballots arriving at the TCF Center in Detroit without a chain of custody and without any envelopes, saying it included a batch of about 40,000 ballots that came early on Nov. 4, the day after Election Day. They also said there have been reports of “illegal and official intimidation and interference” with election observers and poll watchers, including harassment of challengers, unequal treatment of challengers, refusal to record the challengers’ claims, and removal of challengers “if they politely voiced a challenge.”

They said that more than 100 Michiganders, in sworn statements, have made the claims about interference at the polls.

“These claims deserve our full attention and diligent investigation to ensure fairness and transparency in our election process,” said the two lawmakers.

Michigan’s secretary of state’s office hasn’t yet responded to a request for comment about the two lawmakers’ letter.