Madeline Halpert

Joe Biden likely will make a huge step toward making his Michigan win official this week, as the state’s 83 county boards of canvassers certify election results. Despite unproven claims of fraud, even Republicans say surprises are unlikely.

The Democratic former vice president has enough electoral votes to become 46th president. But 83 counties need to be canvassed and Michigan’s 16 electors still need to cast their votes before he is sworn in.

Divisions in our state go beyond who we supported for president. Voters say we are increasingly separated by political tribes, what we see on social media and what lessons we took from police protests.

A mistake by a Republican clerk in northern Michigan has taken on a life of its own and become a talking point for Donald Trump and his supporters who claim voter fraud. But experts say what happened on election night was a “one-off” mistake that was quickly corrected.

Republican poll challengers say they were limited in where they could walk and who they could bring in during ballot counting at the TCF Center. Their Democratic counterparts (and an election official) counter that votes were counted professionally and it was the GOP that complicated the process.

The Republican National Committee is deploying legal teams to Michigan and calling for a federal investigation into ‘irregularities’ But elections officials — including some Republican clerks — say their claims don’t add up to much.

Record turnout boosted the president’s vote totals in dozens of Michigan counties. But suburban voters turned away from the incumbent and gave Biden the margins needed to grab the state’s 16 electoral votes.