2020 Michigan election

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.

A majority on the Board of State Canvassers — which consists of two Democrats and two Republicans — must vote to certify Michigan’s election. One GOP member, whose wife was a poll challenger in Detroit,  offers no guarantees. “What prevents people from cheating?” he asks.

President Trump’s supporters are claiming hundreds of Michigan dead voters cast ballots last week. In fact, most assertions arise from typographical errors such as clerks entering placeholder birthdates. 

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.

In a rare weekend meeting, amid unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud by President Trump, Michigan’s Republican-led Legislature on Saturday used unprecedented subpoena power to demand expansive records from the state’s Nov. 3 election.

Plenty of counties — even Republican ones — took a while to count absentee votes in Michigan, but Donald Trump is laser-focused on Detroit, which has always supported Democrats. His loss, though, is best explained by examining outstate numbers.