Michigan election officials on Monday certified Democratic challenger Joe Biden’s win in the state, AFP reported. The Board of State Canvassers that consists of two Democrats and two Republicans voted in Biden’s favour, with one abstention. The official who abstained from voting was a Republican.
Monday’s result would likely put an end to efforts by Republican President Donald Trump to overturn the result in Michigan, the swing state in which Biden has won by nearly 156,000 votes out of the 5.5 million cast.
By winning Michigan, Biden captured its 16 college electoral votes, bringing his total to 306, way past the 270 mark needed to clinch victory in the presidential election. States won by Trump collectively have 232 votes.
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Trump had claimed fraudulent voting and counting practices in the November 3 vote. In Michigan, after the heavily Democratic county covering Detroit certified its vote last week, Trump summoned top Republican lawmakers in the state to Washington for talks.
Following Monday’s result, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said the decision by the board “confirms the truth: the election was fair and secure, and the results accurately reflect the will of the voters.”
But the abstaining Republican board member said it was “unacceptable” that many questions about Michigan’s election remained unanswered, calling it a “national embarrassment,” AFP reported.
Michigan’s result wasn’t the only one that Trump has challenged.
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Over the weekend a Pennsylvania judge rejected a legal challenge submitted by the Trump campaign which sought to nullify millions of votes.
For such a large request, the judge noted, the Trump lawyers offered “speculative accusations … unsupported by evidence.”
And the Pennsylvania Supreme Court turned back another Trump challenge Monday over counting mailed votes where the envelopes were not completed perfectly.
Pennsylvania counties had a deadline Monday to certify their local votes, which will then lead to that state declaring official Biden’s win.
The Pennsylvania secretary of state has until November 30 to do so, but it is more likely to come this week, an official said.
Georgia certified Biden’s victory there on Friday after a recount, but will undertake another machine review of the ballots at the Trump campaign’s request, with almost no one expecting a different result.
Nevada, another state where Republicans have sought to have Trump’s loss overturned, will certify its vote on Tuesday.
And two other states where Trump has challenged results, Wisconsin and Arizona, have until next week to finalize their counts.
But as in the other states, Trump’s deficit in the vote is unlikely to be significantly affected by recounts and reviews.