DETROIT – The Trump campaign said it filed a lawsuit Wednesday that seeks to stop the counting of ballots in Michigan, despite the vast majority of votes already being unofficially reported by local clerks.
The lawsuit comes as Democratic challenger Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump by approximately 46,000 votes, with 96% of the estimated vote count already tallied. While thousands of votes still need to be counted, many are from absentee ballots in traditionally Democratic strongholds.
The lawsuit alleges the campaign did not have “meaningful access” to areas where ballots were being counted, according to a statement from campaign manager Bill Stepien. Michigan law allows Republican and Democratic observers to monitor the vote counting process. This is a normal part of the election process, intended to give both parties the opportunity to ensure voting and the tabulating of ballots are following the law.
Election challengers appointed by political parties and interest groups as well as poll watchers can observe the election process. While election challengers can question a voter’s eligibility to vote, poll watchers cannot. Neither election challengers nor poll watchers are allowed to speak directly to voters, handle the poll work or electronically record what they see in a polling location or clerk’s office.
The Michigan Republican Party recruited individuals to serve as poll challengers and set up a hotline in conjunction with Trump’s campaign for poll challengers to report any issues they observed.
As of 2:15 p.m. EST on Wednesday, no lawsuit had been docketed in the Michigan Court of Claims. The Trump campaign did not specify where they were denied access to watching the vote count.
The lawsuit also comes after Trump has tweeted several times spreading misinformation about the vote counting process in Michigan. For months, Trump has sought to undermine the integrity of the absentee and mail-in voting process, despite using the process to cast his own ballot.
“President Trump’s campaign has not been provided with meaningful access to numerous counting locations to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process, as guaranteed by Michigan law,” Stepien said in a news release.
“We have filed suit today in the Michigan Court of Claims to halt counting until meaningful access has been granted. We also demand to review those ballots which were opened and counted while we did not have meaningful access. President Trump is committed to ensuring that all legal votes are counted in Michigan and everywhere else.”
For months, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has cautioned that it will take time to count every vote in the state. Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit or Trump campaign allegations.
