Wayne Circuit Judge dismisses lawsuit against city of Detroit alleging election fraud
WAYNE CO., Mich. - A Wayne County judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign over ballot irregularities during the 2020 election.
In an opinion released Friday, Circuit Court Judge Timothy Kenny said there were "no sinister fraudulent activities" at the TCF Center on the day ballots were counted.
"However, sinister, fraudulent motives were ascribed to the process and the City of Detroit. Plaintiffs' interpretation of events is incorrect and not credible."
The Trump campaign tacked on several affidavits from Republican poll watchers and voters alleging irregularities of ballot counting and harassment. However, the court saw many of the allegations as unable to meet the burden of proof required for injunctive relief.
"After analyzing the affidavits and briefs submitted by both parties, this Court concludes the Defendants offered a more accurate and persuasive explanation of activity within the Absent Voter Counting Board (AVCB) at the TCF Center," read the opinion.
The judge's refusal means the certification of ballots from Detroit can continue. This is the third time a judge has refused to intervene in steps that are necessary to bless the Michigan results.
A Detroit Police officer stands guard as Detroit election workers work on counting absentee ballots for the 2020 general election at TCF Center on November 4, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. - President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are
Lawyers in Michigan have sued at multiple levels of the judicial system, but have yet to see much progress in efforts to reverse votes that have been counted or postponing the state's certification of votes.
Michigan and specifically Detroit have been the setting for some of the dozens of lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign alleging electoral falsehoods swayed the election.
President-elect Joe Biden currently leads Donald Trump in Michigan by more than 140,000 votes. He was projected to win the state's 16 electoral votes a day after voting had ended.
However, last week after voting when poll workers were tabulating ballots, several protesters congregated outside the TCF Center. There, many argued poll watchers had been thrown out of the center.
Among the reasons the judge disagreed with the plaintiff's arguments is that none of the Republican challengers tasked with monitoring ballot counting at the TCF Center chose to attend an Oct. 29 session where election clerks walked residents and reporters through the ballot counting process.
"Perhaps if Plaintiffs' election challenger affiants had attended the October 29, 2020 walk-through of the TCF Center ballot counting location, questions and concerns could have been answered in advance of Election Day," read the opinion. "Regrettably, they did not and, therefore, Plaintiffs' affiants did not have a full understanding of the TCF absent ballot tabulation process."
Kenny also wrote the affidavits contradicted with former State Elections Director Christopher Thomas, who is well-respected in the election field and oversaw Detroit's tabulation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report