LANSING, Mich. - Michigan's State Board of Canvassers is expected to meet Monday afternoon, where it will vote whether to certify the state's election.
The largely-procedural vote typically doesn't draw much media coverage but in the politically-tense electoral climate of 2020, every step of the process is being conducted with extreme scrutiny.
And with rumblings that extend to last week when Wayne County's votes almost weren't certified while Michigan Republicans met with President Donald Trump Friday morning, the electorally bumpy process could see more friction.
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Michigan State Board of Canvassers to vote whether to certify election results Monday
A pivotal moment in Michigan election lore will take place Monday when the state board of canvassers meet to vote to certify the election results from the 2020 General Election.
If Michigan's election is certified Monday, then the state's electoral college will be free to cast its ballots for Joe Biden, who holds an unofficial lead over Trump by more than 150,000 votes.
But if it's not, then the state could find itself in a "constitutional crisis" as state House Speaker Lee Chatfield put it Sunday morning.
"We've been doing our own investigations, we've been doing our own reviews of these reports of fraud and the reports of irregularities and I think these need to be looked into," Chatfield said Sunday. "If there were to be a 2-2 split on the state board of canvassers, it would then go to the state supreme court to determine what their response would be, what their order would be. If they didn't have an order to be certified, well then we'd have a constitutional crisis in the state of Michigan."
Chatfield was among the several Republicans who met with the president Friday morning. Following reports of the scheduled meeting, alarm bells went off among Democrats and election officials worried the president was influencing the process.
However, a statement released by the Michigan GOP shortly after the meeting affirmed that no information had been released so far that "would change the outcome of the election in Michigan and, as legislative leaders, we will follow the law and follow the normal process regarding Michigan’s electors, just as we have said throughout this election."
Before the meeting took place, a media firestorm had descended on Wayne County after its canvassing board failed to approve the vote. The two Republicans on the board initially voted no on certifying the vote, before changing their mind.
One of the members of the board, Monica Palmer of Grosse Pointe, said she received a phone call from Trump later that evening. She said he was calling to make sure she was safe after reports she had been threatened.
However, a day later she also signed an affidavit along with the other Republican member on the board, requesting their votes be rescinded. State law doesn't permit the undoing of an election certification after it's been approved, rendering the move moot.
Palmer also denied the president asked her to do anything, emphasizing he was only calling to offer words of encouragement.
Over the weekend, both national and state GOP leaders called on the Michigan Secretary of State to postpone the vote certification for two weeks so an audit of the votes could be conducted. Republican U.S. Senate candidate John James released a video on Sunday calling for the same thing. So far, James has not conceded the race to Democrat Gary Peters.
Secretary Jocelyn Benson had already noted that state law mandated audits only be done after the State Canvassers had certified the election.
"This is b/c (because) election officials do not have legal access to the documents needed to complete audits until the certification," she tweeted on Friday.
It's not entirely clear how Monday's vote will go. The board will start the meeting at 1 p.m. where it will allow the public to offer their opinion on things.