Wayne County Board of Canvassers vote to certify election results but with an audit of unexplained precincts
FOX 2 - 9:30 p.m. UPDATE: In a surprise second vote Tuesday night, the Wayne County Board of Canvassers has decided to vote unanimously to approve the election results - but with a caveat.
It comes with a condition Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson conduct an audit of the unexplained precincts in Wayne County where numbers did not match.
After initially split on the vote to verify the election results from Wayne County, the board of canvassers ultimately revised their vote and unanimously voted to certify the will of the people.
The unanimous vote came five and a half hours into a meeting which was live-streamed on Zoom.
Roughly two hours earlier however the vote was split. Two Republican canvassers voting not to certify due to votes being out of balance. It is something Benson says, is human error.
"If someone shows up and leaves without voting or if someone spoils a ballot or other types of clerical errors."
President Donald Trump tweeted his approval at the earlier news that the Wayne County Board of Canvassers had deadlocked in a vote to certify the election results.
"Michigan just refused to certify the election results! Having courage is a beautiful thing The USA stands proud!"
Benson used the opportunity to fire off a snarky Twitter response.
"Wrong again," she tweeted adding an American flag emoji.
The original story is below.
Earlier tonight, the Wayne County Board of Canvassers deadlocked in a 2-2 tie vote split along party lines Tuesday in the effort to certify the election results Tuesday night.
The vote was split with two Republican members voting not to certify the results and two Democrats voting to certify them. Earlier, a lawsuit by Republican challengers was rejected by the Michigan Court of Appeals, alleging fraud at the TCF Center in Detroit where the count was held, leading to the certification meeting.
The TCF Center ballot count in Detroit on election night.
There has been a litany of allegations including improper absentee voting counts and lack of access for Republican challengers, among others.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has dismissed the allegations, essentially calling them sour grapes for those whose candidates did not win, while critics questioned the surge of absentee ballots that propelled many on the Democratic ticket.
She issued a statement tonight on the deadlock saying it is not a reflection on the election results being fraudulent. Benson said that it is common for some precincts in Michigan and across the country to be "out of balance by a small number of votes" especially in cases when the turnout is high.
"Michigan's Bureau of Elections stands ready to fulfill its duty to complete the canvas for Wayne County, address any clerical errors and improve the quality of the canvass overall," she said. "Importantly, this is not an indication that any votes were improperly cast or tabulated."
Michigan GOP leader Laura Cox said in a statement that people of Michigan "deserve to know what went happened" on election night and over the days that followed.
"I am proud that, due to the efforts of the Michigan Republican Party, the Republican National Committee, and the Trump Campaign, enough evidence of irregularities and potential voter fraud was uncovered resulting in the Wayne County Board of Canvassers refusing to certify their election results.
"This action will allow more time for us to get to the bottom of these deeply troubling irregularities. The people of Michigan deserve fair, open, and transparent elections, and we will continue to fight for just that.”