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Michigan canvassers drop meeting after counties certify vote

DETROIT (AP) — A state Board of Canvassers’ meeting scheduled for Wednesday has been cancelled after canvassers in southeastern Michigan’s Wayne County unanimously certified election results showing Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump.

The meeting had been scheduled in case the state board needed to canvass any county results if a county failed to certify, according to Tracy Wimmer, spokeswoman for Michigan’s secretary of state.

“All counties have certified, so the meeting was unnecessary,” Wimmer said in an email. The board is next scheduled to meet Nov. 23 to certify the Nov. 3 general election.

On Tuesday, two Republican members of the Wayne County canvassing board initially voted against certifying that county’s results, resulting in a 2-2 deadlock with Democrats on the board. Republican member Monica Palmer said poll books in certain precincts in Detroit — a majority-Black city — were out of balance.

The deadlock brought on cries and complaints of racism from Democrats.

Jonathan Kinloch, a Democrat on the panel, said the discrepancies were the result of “human error” and called it “reckless and irresponsible” to not certify the results.

The canvassers later held a revote and certified the results 4-0.

Wayne County Commission Chair Alisha Bell said voting to not certify an election “has never happened” in her 18 years on the commission.

“My speculation is this is a concerted effort by the Republican Party across the country … to delay certification of the vote,” said Bell, who is a Democrat and represents part of Detroit’s west side. “It’s a last-ditch effort to delay.”

The change in votes by Palmer and William Hartmann came after “three hours of being berated by the public,” she added.

“They came to their senses to do the right thing,” Bell said. “This was just wrong. They had to single it out against Detroit.”

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