Democrats, GOP prep for legal battles over Michigan election

LANSING — Democrats and Republicans alike are preparing for potential legal fights in Michigan and other battleground states that could decide Tuesday’s presidential election.

Republican President Donald Trump on Sunday denied a weekend report that he may declare premature victory over Democrat Joe Biden before election officials finish counting a flood of absentee ballots, which Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson says could delay full results here until Friday. 

But the president continued his public attacks on the process, calling it a “terrible thing when states are allowed to tabulate ballots for a long period of time after the election is over” and suggesting lengthy counts could lead to fraud, which experts say is rare. 

“We will be prepared for litigation in every state come Election Day,” Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel told Bridge Michigan on Friday before a Trump rally at the Oakland County International Airport. 

“We’ll just be looking and seeing if there’s anything that comes up. And we’re definitely going to be ready for any type of challenges if we’re seeing anything that’s not right with the election process.”

That’s not unusual, McDaniel noted. Both political parties prepare for election-related litigation every cycle. 

But “this one is a little different,” she said, citing new steps states have taken in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  “Laws have been changed on the fly and processes have been put in place that haven’t been tested in states.”

Unlike Pennsylvania and other states that have drawn Trump’s ire, Michigan officials will not be allowed to count postmarked absentee ballots that arrive after Election Day. The state Court of Appeals last month overturned a ruling that would have given clerks a 14-day window.

But because a record number of voters have already returned absentee ballots, which take longer to count, Michigan officials are warning the public against rushing to judgement based on early returns. It’s likely many local clerks will report in-person vote totals before absentee, the latter of which pollsters expect to favor Biden and other Democratic candidates. 

Benson, the state’s top election official, said Saturday that Michigan is “prepared for challenges that are designed to slow down the process of counting every valid vote and perhaps even create confusion around that process.”

Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel, both Democrats, have lost a series of election lawsuits this year, including recent court rulings striking down Benson’s attempted ban on open carry guns at polling places. Courts have also sided with Republicans by prohibiting late absentee ballot counts and banning groups from paying to give voters free rides to the polls.

But Benson said she and Nessel have “cultivated” a strong relationship in those cases that should benefit in future litigation.

“Because of that and also because of the close collaborative relationships I have with other Secretaries of State around the country, I feel we’ve really mapped out various different contingencies,” she said.  “We’re prepared with a strong knowledge of the law and a determination to protect every voter and ensure every valid vote is counted.”

Trump won the state by 10,704 votes in 2016, his narrowest win of the cycle. He is again putting a heavy focus on Michigan, with campaign rallies set for both Traverse City and Grand Rapids on Monday, the final day before the election. 

As Bridge reported Monday, Benson’s office is planning regular public updates during what could be a multi-day election count, especially if either candidate declares a victory that isn’t “clearly demonstrated” by the data, said spokesperson Jake Rollow. 

In an online campaign event Sunday night with the Michigan Democratic Party, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist said state officials will be actively working to counter lies and misinformation that could arise this week and sow doubt about the legitimacy of the election count here. 

“We got lawyers on lawyers on lawyers on lawyers who are ready to make sure that no one ultimately stands between you and your right to vote,” he said, urging voters to call 1-866-OUR-VOTE if they have problems casting a ballot by the time polls close Tuesday. 

Trump has encouraged his supporters to sign up as poll challengers in Michigan, and he’s publicly feuded with both Benson and Nessel over election-related issues. But he’s saved his harshest criticism for Pennsylvania, where the U.S. Supreme Court declined to overturn a ruling allowing officials to count some absentee ballots received through Friday. 

“I don’t know if that’s going to be changed, because … as soon as that election is over, we’re going in with our lawyers,” Trump told reporters Sunday. 

While those comments appeared specific to Pennsylvania, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel responded by noting that officials here are expecting upward of 3 million votes by absentee ballot — nearly twice the record 1.6 million cast in the August primary. State law does not allow clerks to begin counting absentee ballots before 7 a.m. Election Day. 

“The election ends when all the votes are counted,” Nessel wrote in a Monday morning tweet. “Not when the polls close.”

Michigan will have 3 million or more absentee ballots to count. The counting of AV Ballots cannot begin until 7am Election Day. The election ends when all the votes are counted. Not when the polls close. #CountEveryBallot https://t.co/vIWpMpJW0r

— Dana Nessel (@dananessel) November 2, 2020

Voters will determine the winner of the Michigan election, not the candidates, she added. 

“Any effort to discount over half of all votes in our state is nothing short of a coup. The Michigan Department of Attorney General will be ready to counter any such effort.”

McDaniel, the former Michigan GOP chair who now leads the national party, denied accusations that Republicans are trying to block valid votes to swing the election to Trump. But she said Republicans will be closely watching elections across the country for irregularities. 

“We are all for every voter who’s eligible to vote being able to vote,” McDaniel told Bridge. “We want that to happen. But we all need to have election integrity and systems in place to make sure that people aren’t voting who shouldn’t be able to vote.”

Bridge reporter Riley Beggin contributed to this report.