Nov 23, 2020 - Politics & Policy
Michigan board certifies Biden's win
Orion Rummler
Poll workers count absentee ballots in Detroit, Michigan on Nov. 4. Photo: Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The Michigan Board of State Canvassers certified the state's election results on Monday, making President-elect Joe Biden's win there official and granting him the state's 16 electoral votes.
Why it matters: Republican Party leaders had unsuccessfully appealed to delay the official certification, amid the Trump campaign's failed legal challenges in key swing states.
Zoom in: Two Democrats and two Republicans sit on Michigan's board. Aaron Van Langevelde, a GOP board member, said in a prepared statement on Monday that he would certify election results, adding: "This board must do its part to uphold the rule of law and comply with our legal duty to certify this election."
Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel on Saturday asked the board to delay certifying the state's results by adjourning for 14 days, "to allow for a full audit and investigation" into alleged ballot irregularities.
President Trump personally met with two Michigan lawmakers on Friday. Afterwards, state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R) and Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield (R) said they "have not yet been aware of any information that would change the outcome of the election."
Of note: Jocelyn Benson, Michigan's Democratic secretary of state, said Sunday that according to state law, no investigation or audit into alleged irregularities could be held until election results are certified, per the New York Times.
What they're saying: "As in past elections, some jurisdictions made errors in reporting unofficial results on election night," the state Bureau of Elections said in a memo on Friday, as it recommended that state canvassers certify the election results from Nov. 3.
"These errors are all attributable to human error in the operation of tools used to report unofficial results, did not affect the actual tabulation of votes and were identified and corrected either prior to or during the county canvass."
"Overall we had an extremely well run and secure election," Michigan's director of elections Jonathan Brater said on Monday.
Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis wrote in a statement: "Certification by state officials is simply a procedural step. We are going to continue combatting election fraud around the country as we fight to count all the legal votes. Americans must be assured that the final results are fair and legitimate."
Editor's note: This story has been updated with the Trump campaign's statement.