WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — President Donald Trump’s campaign pushed ahead on Wednesday with its litigation strategy to challenge the results of the presidential election by filing a lawsuit in Michigan.
The president’s legal team went to federal court to try to block Michigan, a Midwestern battleground state that he won in 2016 but lost to Biden, from certifying the election results. Trump trailed by roughly 146,000 votes, or 2.6 percentage points, in unofficial Michigan vote totals, according to the Associated Press results.
Plaintiff attorney David Kallman said, “We are not asking for a process audit we are talking about a results audit which is what the constitution permits.”
The suit includes more than 100 signed and sworn statements. David Kallman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, says they want a results audit – not necessarily a recount.
“Frankly what good is a recount of votes, that if they weren’t properly tabulated and if votes were improperly entered, how do you undo that at this point? A recount isn’t going to do much good if all you’re doing is recounting the very votes that were fraudulently put into the system,” Kallman added.
According to a complaint filed in a federal court in western Michigan, many people have submitted affidavits describing alleged misconduct in the voting, with the focus on the Democratic stronghold of Wayne County, which includes Detroit.
The allegations are similar to those raised by the Trump campaign and some Republicans in lawsuits in several states.
Trump’s campaign has alleged that misconduct in Michigan included harassment of Republican poll challengers and a requirement that they adhere to 6-foot distancing rules unlike Democratic poll challengers, and that “illegal and ineligible ballots were counted.”
The complaint said election results should not be certified without confirming that all ballots were counted properly, and a special election might be needed in problematic precincts.
David Fink, a lawyer for the city of Detroit, disputed many of the allegations, “This was a terrific process and it was handled properly.”
Fink says challengers for both parties were present at all times.
“For the health and safety of the ppl who were present there had to be regulations that limited social distance – nobody can argue with that today it makes no sense,” Flink said.
Trump has declined to concede the election to Democrat Joe Biden, instead pursuing lawsuits in pivotal states to try to back up claims of widespread voting fraud — no current evidence to support the claim has yet been presented. The Michigan lawsuit also made allegations of misconduct in the voting process.
Jake Rollow, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of State, said in a statement the Trump campaign was promoting false claims to erode public confidence in Michigan’s elections.
“It does not change the truth: Michigan’s elections were conducted fairly, securely, transparently, and the results are an accurate reflection of the will of the people,” Rollow said.
Prominent Republican lawmakers and other Trump allies have backed the president’s strategy, saying he has the right to contest the election results. The suit was filed one day after Biden called Trump’s failure to concede an “embarrassment.”
Judges have tossed out several of the Trump lawsuits, and legal experts say the litigation has scant chance of changing the election outcome.
County certification in Michigan is supposed to happen next Tuesday. Statewide certification happens on November 23rd, unless a judge grants an audit or some other intervention.